Jack Draper is ready to achieve more “amazing things” after reaching the US Open semi-finals.
In the first grand slam since Andy Murray ended his stellar career, Draper has announced himself as the new star of British tennis and is taking New York by storm.
His 6-3 7-5 6-2 win in the quarter-final against world number 10 Alex De Minaur saw him become the first British man to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows since Murray lifted the title in 2012.
His run here has similar vibes to that of another British success story when Emma Raducanu shocked the world by winning in 2021 and Draper is eyeing a fairytale of his own.
“This is not kind of like an overnight thing for me,” he said. “I’ve believed for a long time that I’ve been putting in the work and doing the right things, and I knew that my time would come.
“I didn’t know when it would be, but hopefully from here I can do a lot of amazing things. I’m very proud of myself.
“It’s amazing. On the biggest court in the world, it’s a dream come true for me.
“I’ve got amazing people around me, I’ve got a good team. I don’t feel kind of overawed by the situations I’ve been in. It’s not getting to me in any sort of way.”
The first few years of Draper’s career had been hit by injury and fears were raised when Draper took a medical timeout midway through the second set and had his right hamstring strapped up.
The 22-year-old has said he was concerned but the problem did not worsen.
“I felt something on set point in the first set,” he said. “I was a little bit worried about it at the time but then I played two sets on it.
“I think one of the things this year which has helped me to sort of be better is I’m mentally a lot better.
“I feel like I’m aware that I’m obviously playing so much tennis and competing so much and putting my body through so much that I’m going to pick up little niggles and injuries and I’ve got to just keep on going.
“At the end of the day it didn’t get any worse, and I felt good towards the end. I was happy it didn’t turn into a problem.”
Draper has won 15 straight sets en route to the last four, but he will certainly get his toughest test yet in the last four.
He will meet either world number one Jannik Sinner or 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev, who are playing overnight in what is being described by some as the de facto final.
For De Minaur, whose girlfriend is British number one Katie Boulter, it is another quarter-final loss at a grand slam and the Australian appeared to be struggling with injury throughout.
There were reports of De Minaur cutting his practice session short before the match and his movement was clearly impeded, but he was keen to downplay the impact of his physical condition.
The Australian, who pulled out of Wimbledon with the same problem, said: “I wish I felt better. Let’s just put it that way. It’s tough. It’s a big opportunity. It’s a big chance.
“I was not expecting today, if I’m honest. Everything was trending in the right direction.
“But yeah, it’s fine. I dealt with it after Wimbledon.
“I’ll deal with it after here, and I’ll be back in no time, and hopefully sliding from side to side with not a thought in my head.”
