- The Englishman looked increasingly worse when he sat down on his bench
- And his Italian rival didn’t look much better, screaming in pain during treatment
- Draper had lost the first set 7-5 in his first ever Grand Slam semi-final
Jack Draper’s US Open semi-final against Jannik Sinner is dominated by illness and injury for both players as the two struggle in humid conditions during a marathon match.
The Englishman threw up a few times on the court in a second set, which he eventually lost. Sinner complained of a problem with his left wrist after falling on it during one of the many coveted points.
The 22-year-old appeared uncomfortable on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium throughout the set, appearing to double over a few times between points before losing the ball in a tiebreak.
Draper appeared to be ill early in the set after losing the first set 7-5 to the Italian, but then he vomited in front of the TV cameras with the score 4-3 in his favour.
Meanwhile, Sinner is still struggling with a painful injury to his left wrist, which means he cannot use his backhand properly in the deciding match.
Jack Draper threw up on the court in the US Open semi-finals
Meanwhile, Sinner continues to struggle with a painful injury to his left wrist
Draper appeared to be ill early in the second set after losing the first 7-5 to the Italian
At one point, both physiotherapists were working on the players at the same time, with the intense competition taking its toll on the two stars, who are friends off the field.
Draper put in a heroic performance on the court, but every time he sat down on his bench between service games, he looked worse.
And Sinner didn’t look much better, screaming in pain as his teammates tended to him on the sidelines.
Throughout the set, a somewhat hilarious discussion arose over whether Draper’s fluids should be properly disposed of by the ground crew.
Instead, a frustrated Draper insisted on wiping it off himself with his towel and carefully walking around the affected area while punting.
Despite his hard fight, the Englishman, who was playing in a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time, could not decisively attack his opponent’s serve. The second set ended in a tiebreak.
Just before the deciding match, the referee insisted that Draper agree to have the staff clean up the vomit, but the 22-year-old refused, despite appearing to be affected by the fluid throughout the set.
Sinner put his wrist injury aside and raced to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak, before slowly crossing the finish line to take a two-set lead.
It was unpleasantly humid in New York during the exciting match and that seemed to take its toll on the two tennis stars.
Draper, who put in a valiant performance on the field, looked increasingly worse when he sat down on his bench
And Sinner didn’t look much better, screaming in pain as members of his team tended to him on the sidelines
The Italian was caught grabbing his wrist at several points during the second set
One of the people who witnessed Draper’s ordeal was his mother, Nicky, who had decided at the last minute to go to the competition after missing the first rounds.
“I booked a flight for tonight,” she said. “I just decided to go this morning.”
This was a stark departure from her comments earlier this week, when she said she would “probably not” be in the stadium for the monumental showdown.