Jack Draper blames vomiting during US Open semi-final on New York humidity and his anxiety after struggling in defeat by Jannik Sinner
Jack Draper believes his vomiting attacks during his US Open semi-final defeat were due to a combination of the humidity, the physical demands of the match and his anxiety during the biggest match of his life.
“It was extremely humid today,” Draper said after his 7-5, 7-6, 6-2 defeat to Italy’s Jannik Sinner.
‘It was a very physical match, Jannik is the number 1 in the world. When you play against the best players, the intensity is different, it is a step forward.
“It’s a big event for me. Although I feel quite relaxed in general, today I definitely felt more excited, a few more nervous. I’m a pretty anxious person. I think when you add it all up, I sometimes get a little bit nauseous on the track, and I feel a little bit sick when things get tough.
‘I didn’t have any problems before the match, but it happened naturally.’
Jack Draper attributed his vomiting attacks to the humidity, physical exertion and his anxiety
Draper threw up three times during the match and was also sweating profusely, but he performed well and will leave with a lot of positives from his first run to a Grand Slam semifinal.
“You feel worse and worse because you can’t put anything into your body,” the 22-year-old said. “When you play long matches, you need to be able to drink and eat to give your body the nutrients it needs to keep going.
‘But when you’re feeling sick and stuff like that, you can’t put anything in your body because it just comes back out, and that’s the worst feeling ever. You can’t move around the field.
“It’s a horrible feeling. You feel more and more dizzy and sick.”
Draper said he never considered retiring from the match. ‘No, no, no, I’m not going to retire in the semifinals of a Grand Slam. I know the last set didn’t look great, but at the end of the day I always try to do my best.
Draper vomited three times during the game and also sweated profusely in New York
‘The second set I didn’t feel so great and I forced it to a tiebreak. I fought hard. I’m proud of myself. I tried to fight as hard as I could. But against someone like him I’m not going to make it.’
On being an anxious person and how he deals with it, Draper said: ‘Tennis is a huge mental and physical thing. I always try my best to keep evolving, to keep learning, and it’s definitely something I’ve had to struggle with my whole life.
‘I have a pretty strong mentality and often use a lot of mental energy because I want it so badly.
“That doesn’t necessarily help a lot of times, especially in these best of five set matches, that kind of fear and those feelings can build up. So it’s definitely just something that’s a real strength of mine, but also a weakness, and I have to keep working on it.”