Jack Draper is targeting more success in the future after his straight sets defeat to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the US Open.
The British number one fought valiantly in his first Grand Slam semi-final but ultimately lost in straight sets to world number one Jannik Sinner.
It was a match that saw Draper struggle with the humidity of conditions as he threw up on more than one occasion during the contest.
After the match Draper spoke about conditions but told journalists that he had no plans to retire in his first Grand Slam semi-final, “I mean, obviously it was extremely humid today. Hasn’t been pretty much the whole week as of yet. You know, I think it was obviously a very physical match. Obviously that’s why Jannik is No. 1 player in the world, because when you play the top players, the intensity is different,” Draper said in his press conference.
“You know, it’s a step up. I think obviously it’s a big occasion for me. I definitely felt, even though I generally feel pretty relaxed and stuff, I definitely felt more excited today, a few more nerves around. I’m definitely someone who is, I think, quite an anxious human being.
“I think when you add all that together sometimes I do feel a bit nausea on court, and I do feel a little bit sick when it gets tough. Yeah, I didn’t have any problems before the match, but it obviously just built up.
“You just feel worse and worse, because you can’t put anything in your body. You know, like, when you’re playing long matches, you need to be able to drink and to eat things and, you know, to give your body the supplies it needs to keep on going.
“But obviously when you’re feeling sick and stuff like that, you can’t put anything inside your body, because it just comes straight out, and it’s the worst feeling ever. You can’t move around the court when that happens. So no, it’s a horrible feeling, and you feel more dizzy and more sick the more you are.
“I’m not going to retire in the semis of a Grand Slam. I know the last set, you know, it probably looked liked from courtside or on TV that it was, you know, not a great look. But, you know, at the end of the day, I always try and give my best, you know. The second set I was feeling not too great, and, you know, I still pushed it to a tiebreak.
“I was fighting hard. You know, I’m proud of myself. I tried to fight as hard as I can. Just not going to get it done against someone like that.”
It’s not the only time Draper has struggled physically in the big matches although that area of his game is improving all the time.
The British number one suggested that experience will help him get better as time goes on as he aims to break more ground in the near future, “Yeah, definitely I’m getting, as a player, I’m getting more and more experience, you know. That’s the one thing, you know, that’s helping me this year and helping me to feel better in general is, you know, the more experiences you have of situations, the easier things become,” Draper explained.
“You just take it all in your stride. Obviously Jannik’s been in this situation a few times now, you know, so he can sort of relate to maybe the feelings. You know, it’s difficult, like, obviously I’m an athlete, I’m a tennis player, and there are so many athletes out there, we’ve all got things we’re working through all the time. You know, tennis especially or just any sport is hugely mental and physical.
“I try my best all the time to keep on evolving, to keep on learning, and it’s definitely something I’ve had to just work through my whole entire life. I think I’ve got quite a strong mentality and quite a sort of almost, you know, I use up a lot of mental energy a lot of the time because I want it so badly.
“But obviously that doesn’t necessarily help a lot of the times, especially in these five-set matches and that sort of anxiety and those feelings can build up. So it’s definitely just something that, you know, is a real strength of mine but also a weakness, and I have to continue to work on it.”
Despite the result it’s been a positive fortnight for Draper as he reached his first Grand Slam semi-final and is now a top 20 player for the first time in his career.
The Brit believes this is only the start as he continues to break down barriers in his already successful career, “I think it’s just a matter of time. You know, I think I’m constantly trying to improve. I’ve got great people around me, I’m doing all the right things,” Draper concluded his press conference by saying.
“You know, like I said yesterday, when I came here last year I was 120 in the world, barely played the whole season. You know, I think I’ll be leaving here this week top 20. You know, having continued to achieve, you know, things that I’m breaking new barriers down the whole time of what I think is possible.
“So, you know, I don’t think anything’s going to just, oh, I need to do this and that’s going to help. I think it’s more just keep on doing what I’m doing. Experience for someone like Jannik or Carlos or some of these young players, you know, they’ve been on the tour for about three or four years now, constantly playing, constantly learning, constantly taking wins and losses and experiencing losing in the quarters or semis of a Grand Slam.
“This is my first proper year, I’d say, because of all my injuries and all my setbacks, so I’m a few years behind almost. So I think I just need to keep on learning, keep on growing, keep on having situations like today where I came unstuck and, you know, how am I going to do it different next time and all these types of things. That’s the biggest thing I think it is, honestly, just a matter of time.
“It’s experiences, doing all the right things, it’s training consistently, and over time you just progress and you get stronger and you get better. Hopefully I’ll be in these situations more often and I’m able to come through them.”
Draper’s next tournament will be the Davis Cup group stage in Manchester where Great Britain take on Canada, Finland and Argentina.
