British youngster Jack Draper took the tennis world by storm as he made it to the semifinals of the 2024 US Open. It is indeed a very special feat as it is for the first time that the 22-year-old has reached this far in a Grand Slam.
However, what makes it even more special for Draper is the fact that he did it without losing a single set in the entire tournament. That is something that no other tennis player could do at the US Open this year.
With his quarter-final victory over Alex de Minaur, Draper’s ATP ranking took a surge as he entered the top 20 list. Rising by 5 ranks, Draper is now placed at 20 against his previous ranking of 25. He gained 620 points, with his total points reaching 2,315.
This is huge for the Brit as in his previous Grand Slam campaigns, he couldn’t get past the Round of 16. At the same time, Draper has become the first men’s singles player after Andy Murray to reach a Grand Slam semi-final.
With this, it could be safe to say that Draper has it in him to become the next big thing in British tennis after Murray and might fetch great achievements for the country just like the 3-time Grand Slam champion did.
This season can be considered as Draper’s best season on the tour so far as he achieved many firsts this year. He played in two finals on the tour this year- the 2024 Adelaide International and the 2024 BOSS Open. Earlier this year, he also reached the No.1 ranking in the British men’s tennis players list, making the season even more special for him.
However, his semi-final clash isn’t going to be that easy since he will have to face the winner of the quarter-final match between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner. Sinner is currently the World No.1 and in top form as well. On the other hand, Medvedev is ranked No.5 in the world and had won the US Open in 2021.
Regardless of the result, Draper is sure to stay at the 20th spot at least for the time being and that is the biggest positive for him from the US Open 2024 campaign.
