Jannik Sinner brings Jack Draper’s New York adventure to a brutal end

Having navigated the most important two weeks of his blossoming career with admirable ruthlessness and confidence, Jack Draper walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium for the biggest match of his career, fully aware that the challenge would require him to raise both his game and his physicality to a higher level in order to take on the men’s number one ranked player, Jannik Sinner.

Instead, the matchup descended into total chaos as Draper struggled physically, vomiting multiple times and sweating profusely in humid conditions, while fighting hard until the end. In one of the tournament’s most bizarre matches, Sinner, himself struggling with a wrist injury after falling mid-match, defeated Draper 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2 in a three-hour, three-minute psychodrama to reach the US Open final for the first time in his career.

With his 54th victory in an incredible breakthrough season, Sinner has become the first Italian in history to reach the US Open singles final. The Australian Open champion has won 34 of his 36 matches on hard courts this year and is looking to end his season by winning his second Grand Slam of the year.

It remains a remarkable turn of events given the news that preceded Sinner’s appearance in New York. A week before the US Open began, the Italian announced that he had tested positive for the banned substance clostebol twice in April, before a recent independent tribunal ruled that Sinner was not at fault or negligent for the presence of the banned substance in his system due to contamination.

Although Sinner is only four months older than Draper, the pair entered the match with such a vast difference in experience. Virtually every aspect of this semifinal was new territory for Draper, who has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam only once in his career, while Sinner has spent the last three years in the top 20 and is only the fourth active player to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments.

The significance of the moment was also evident in the increased activity around him. Nicky Draper, Jack’s mother, decided at the last minute to fly to New York to watch her son compete in his first Grand Slam semi-final. The US Open grounds were suddenly filled with a larger British media presence in anticipation of a huge match. As Draper tried to keep his composure, his warm-up on court six for the biggest match of his career was a hive of activity, with all eyes on him.

Both players entered their opening service games with authority, and early in the match Draper’s biggest problem was simply his serve. At 5-5, after the pair had already exchanged breaks early in the set, Draper’s serve capitulated. In a long, hard deuce game at 5-5, he hit three double faults, including one on break point, to hand over the decisive break. Draper finished the opening set with 52% of his first serves and six double faults.

After a fairly low profile start, the match quickly descended into total chaos in the second set as it became apparent that Draper was struggling physically. His problems were first reflected in him sweating profusely, throwing multiple rackets off the court to change their grips, and then changing his soaked tennis shoes because they were deemed too “dangerous” to participate. From midway through the second set, Draper vomited on the court several times and his mobility diminished as the match progressed. Despite his struggles, Draper still managed to find big serves and excellent shotmaking in the decisive moments as an undersized Sinner also let him off the hook repeatedly. Somehow, Draper managed to hold serve throughout the set.

At 4-4, 40-15 on Draper’s serve, Sinner produced one of the best points of the entire tournament, a brilliant defensive effort that ended with him fending off a big overhead shot from Draper with a huge forehand winner in response. But Sinner had slipped during the point. With both players struggling physically, Draper looking ill while Sinner dodged his backhand, Sinner recovered and closed out the second set in a dominant tie-break. With Sinner leading by two sets and Draper looking virtually out, the third set was a mere formality as the world No. 1 saw out the match without further drama to reach his second career Grand Slam final.

Draper’s physical problems have been the defining issue of his career so far, from the heatstroke he suffered in his debut match to the various injuries and problems that have marred his attempts to climb the rankings in recent years. He has worked extremely hard and made great strides to reach the point where he is physically robust enough to perform week after week on the ATP Tour and recreate that amazing breakthrough in New York, but as he left the stadium he undoubtedly left with the knowledge that there is still more work to be done.