Jack Draper is finally reaping the rewards of a relentless commitment to his craft, finding himself in the last four of the 2024 US Open.
Draper’s emphatic run to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows offers a promising glimpse of the success that awaits him further down the line.
The 22-year-old is mature. Through injury setbacks and sub-par performances, Draper has bided his time and worked out a solution, time and time again.
It was only earlier this year that Draper took a real look at himself and changed his approach.
Draper faces world number one Jannik Sinner on Friday for a spot in the US Open final, but this is only the beginning.
What did Jack Draper predict in 2022?
Jack Draper has been making waves in top-flight tennis for many years, establishing a name for himself at tour-level in 2021.
He burst onto the scene at Queen’s Club that summer where he enjoyed an awe-inspiring run to the quarter-finals and it wasn’t long before people were referring to Draper as the most likely candidate to carry British tennis forward after the retirement of Andy Murray.
A few years went by competing on the lower tiers and grappling with injuries, but in 2023 Draper started to offer real promise by surging inside the world’s top 40 and reaching his first ATP final.
He has been calm and composed when things haven’t gone his way, such as the disappointing string of results he registered earlier this year, and he has always bounced back.
Draper clinched his first ATP title this summer and is now backing it up with a fairytale run in New York.
However, according to the youngster himself, the best is yet to come.
“I was a really late developer,” Draper said in 2022. “There are players who have developed really early, and they’re ready to do it when they are 22 or 21, but I think I’ll be at my peak when I’m 25.”
Draper’s US Open run is just the beginning
If Draper’s prediction is anything to go by, he will be winning grand slam titles in the next few years.
And after seeing his performance over the fortnight in New York, the prospect of that becoming a reality is looking increasingly likely.
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Heading into his semi-final showdown with Jannik Sinner, Draper is yet to drop a set. He has used his trusty lefty serve and punishing groundstrokes to full effect, making light work of the five opponents who have all fallen before him.
When Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit, Draper’s quarter of the draw blew wide open. It is one thing to say that the 22-year-old should have easily progressed, but it is another to silence the pressure and capitalize on the situation.
Regardless of the result against Sinner on Friday, Draper will shoot inside the world’s top 20 for the first time, and his performances, alongside his off-court approach, have indicated that this is where he belongs.
He belongs on the biggest stages in the sport. After all, he is still a few years out from his peak.
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