- The Englishman has reached the final stages of a Grand Slam in the past two weeks
- His mother Nicky has now revealed that she flew to New York for the competition
- She also lifted the lid on the dish that Italian Sinner Draper learned to cook
Jack Draper’s mother has made a last-minute U-turn and flown to New York to watch her son play Jannik Sinner in the US Open semi-finals. Earlier, she seemed unsure whether she would watch.
The Englishman has reached the final stages of the Grand Slam without losing a single set, having defeated Zhang Zhizhen, Facundo Díaz Acosta, Botic van de Zandschulp, Tomas Machac and tenth-seeded Alex de Minaur.
As he prepares to take on the world’s best tennis player tonight at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Draper hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow American Emma Raducanu, who won the women’s title in 2021.
With his victory tonight, he also becomes the first British Grand Slam finalist since Andy Murray won the Wimbledon trophy eight years ago.
And in a dramatic change of heart, his mother Nicky has decided to head to the Big Apple for the biggest game of her son’s career, revealing the news to the BBC.
Jack Draper’s mother made a last-minute U-turn and flew to New York to watch her son play in his US Open semi-final
The Englishman has reached the final stages of the Grand Slam without losing a set
He is now preparing to take on the best tennis player in the world tonight at Arthur Ashe Stadium
“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.
She added: ‘It’s somewhere in the back of my mind.
‘But I watched every game with my dad and my dog, swearing and cursing, jumping up and down, clapping and drinking a glass of wine at the same time.
“I have both my boys there, I think they’ll be fine without me. So probably not.”
Nicky also revealed that Draper and his Italian opponent are friends and shared which dish Sinner taught her son to cook.
“I think they’re actually pretty good friends. They’ve played doubles a few times and they’ve had dinner together occasionally.
‘I think Jannik made pasta for Jack and taught him how to cook pasta.
Nicky also revealed that Draper and his Italian opponent are friends
Draper hopes to follow in the footsteps of her compatriot Emma Raducanu, who won the women’s title in 2021
A win tonight would also make him the first British men’s Grand Slam finalist since Andy Murray lifted the Wimbledon trophy eight years ago
Murray, who retired this summer at the age of 37, first reached the US final in 2008 before winning the trophy four years later after beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (pictured).
“They’re young boys, aren’t they?”
When Raducanu defeated Leylah Fernandez in the final three years ago, many predicted that the then 19-year-old would make it to the top of the sport. Since then, however, she has had a difficult three years, marked by injuries and changes in her coaching team.
Murray, who retired this summer at the age of 37, first reached the US final in 2008 before lifting the trophy four years later after beating Serbian Novak Djokovic in his first Grand Slam victory.