WHAT HAPPENED: On an exceedingly humid Friday afternoon, playing in heavy conditions that severely tested the endurance and coping ability of both No. 1 Jannik Sinner and his challenger, 25th-seeded Jack Draper of Great Britain, the Italian favorite survived a potentially scary injury to his left wrist and advanced to the final of the US Open.
Sinner outlasted Draper, who was playing in his first major semifinal, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2.
“It was a very physical match,” said Sinner on-court after his victory. “He’s very tough to beat”
In the first of two US Open men’s semifinals pitting good friends against one another, Sinner was far from his best, but that was due both to the conditions and the valiant efforts of 22-year-old Draper, the only man who had yet to lose a set coming into the semifinals. Draper looked to be suffering in the intense heat and humidity throughout the second set, but the young Brit, who has spoken of his drastically improved fitness, summoned the reserves and courage to stay with the smooth, big-hitting Sinner for two, tight sets.
Sinner broke open the match for good in the final set.
The Italian now seeks to bookend his year, which began with his first major title at the Australian Open in January, with a win at the year’s last slam, in New York.
In the opening set, neither player appeared completely comfortable, with Sinner playing uncharacteristically spotty tennis, but the 6-foot-4 Draper used his wicked lefty serve and a game plan to trade deep, hard groundstrokes to stay in contention. Sinner broke for the first time for a 4-3 advantage—only the fourth time all tournament that the Englishman had been broken—but Draper dug in and immediately broke back.
At 5-5 and seemingly headed towards a first-set tiebreak, Draper fended off two break points but surrendered his serve with his sixth double fault of the set. The Brit complained that he was unable to grip his racquet because of the sweaty, humid conditions.
The second set began with a drained Draper continuing to battle the conditions as well as his opponent. Sweating profusely, the Brit was forced to change his waterlogged shoes in the middle of a game. Every game on Draper’s serve was a struggle, as his serving percentage dropped to 43% on first serves and he faced break points in five consecutive games.
Yet Draper managed to hang tough, going toe-to-toe with Sinner in rallies and winning key points by serving and volleying, several times hitting delicate touch volleys.
The second set took a surreal turn in the ninth game. Draper vomited a total of four times in the back court. Serving at 30-30, 4-all, he and Sinner traded two close-ranged, angled shots in the forecourt. The Brit rolled a forehand deep down the line. Sinner tracked it down, but as he threw up a high lob, the Italian took a tumble, bracing himself with his left hand. Off a hard Draper smash, Sinner rocketed a screaming forehand winner from deep in the court.
But he immediately grabbed his left wrist, wincing.
On the next point Sinner hit a weak two-handed backhand return, his left wrist obviously impacted, before calling for the trainer and a medical timeout. Draper, who only moments earlier had been in extreme physical distress, was also attended to by a physio.
Both players picked up where they left off, holding serve to get to a tiebreak. Sinner initially seemed vulnerable on his backhand, unable to attack the ball. Draper, for his part, continued to require a toweling down of the court every few points.
In the second-set tiebreak, Sinner jumped out to a 4-0 lead, suddenly returning to his previous level, and claimed a two-set lead.
The Italian broke Draper’s serve at 2-3 with a forehand pass followed by a rolled backhand pass, effectively quashing any hopes the Englishman might have harbored for a comeback.
Sinner will face an American in the final, either Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe. “Whoever it is, it’s going to be a very tough challenge for me,” said the Italian.
“Every Sunday you get to play a final it means you are doing an amazing job.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Coming into this semifinal, with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic knocked out early on, Sinner was the overwhelming favorite to win the championship, and he had looked pretty much unimpeachable. The Italian has won more matches than any other man this year on his favorite surface, hard courts.
Sinner and Draper had played just once before as pros: The Brit edged out Sinner in two tiebreaks on grass at Queens Club in 2021, when both players were still merely highly touted up-and-comers. That’s essentially a lifetime ago for each, but especially for Sinner, who has established himself as one of the game’s very best, and a threat to win on every surface.
In the time since, the two players have established a close camaraderie. “It’s a great friendship,” Sinner said, while Draper said of the Italian: “Jannik is a good friend, someone I’m definitely close to.” The two pals played doubles together last month in Montreal.
Sinner has gone deep at all four slams this year (one title, one semifinal, one quarterfinal and now another final). Draper, in his breakout year on tour (he won his first ATP title and reached a career-high ranking of No. 25), was playing his first major semifinal.
MATCH POINT: Sinner, who has now reached the semifinals at all four major events, now holds a 44-1 record vs. players ranked outside Top 10 this year. The Italian has won 13 of his 15 career titles on hard courts.
