Jack Draper believes a change in his approach to tennis last season has contributed towards his rise in the sport as he prepares to play his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open.
The 22-year-old has become the first British man to reach the last four in Flushing Meadows since Andy Murray in 2012 and is yet to drop a set in the tournament. So far he has beaten 10th seed Alex de Minaur, Tomas Machac, Botic van de Zandschulp, Facundo Díaz Acosta and Zhang Zhizhen. The run has secured his top 20 debut in the PIF ATP rankings next week.
Draper’s Grand Slam breakthrough comes during a year where he has won his first ATP title in Stuttgart and beaten his first top three player (Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s). He has reached the quarter-finals or better at seven events since January.
“My perspective changed a lot last year when I began to have a more working mentality where I knew that if I wanted to be one of the best players in the world I had to mature early and give everything to my tennis,” Draper said of his rise during an interview with Sky Sports.
“No more going out and no more wasting energy on random things. I had to really lock myself away and really focus on what I really wanted to do.”
Inevitably, his surge on the Tour has made Draper more of a well-known figure in the world of men’s tennis. Something that has both positive and negative points. He now has to try to live up to these credentials on a consistent basis.
“A lot of the players know my talent and know my tennis capabilities and probably see me as a dangerous player,” he said.
“It’s been important for me to show my face on the tour most weeks and show that I’m physically robust. That mentally, I’m all in, and I’m doing all the right things, and that also gains respect from the other players.”
Draper is now targeting his maiden win over a world No.1 player when he faces Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the US Open. A player who he beat in their only previous meeting back in 2021 and more recently played doubles alongside in August. Draper will undoubtedly be the underdog in the encounter against Sinner, who has already won one Grand Slam, two Masters 1000s and two ATP 500 trophies this year,
“I’m not the kind of person who is happy to get to a certain point. I’m always thinking of the next challenge, which is not always a good thing in life at times,” Draper explains.
“I wish I was a bit more appreciative of what I’m doing in life and achieving. As a tennis player you’re always hungry for the next thing, you always want something more, and achieve bigger things.
“There’s no time to be happy of where I’m at, at the moment. I’m looking forward to Friday.”
Should Draper win, he would become only the third British man in the Open Era to reach the final in Flushing Meadows after Greg Rusedski and Murray.
