Jack Draper’s sensational run at the US Open 2024 ended on a sad note for the Brit. After winning 15 sets consecutively, the now World No.20 suffered a straight sets defeat against Jannik Sinner in the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career. To make matters worse, Draper was also embarrassed by his constant puking on the bench.
The Draper-Sinner semi-final was scheduled for Friday, 3 PM. Neither of the two players seemed to have their style of play hampered by the extremely hot and humid conditions initially.
However, fatigue kicked in after a grueling 7-5 first-set finish. During the 8th game of the second set, as Draper was getting ready to receive Sinner’s serve, the former gave up because of the humidity. The 22-year-old tried to clean up the vomit but it was not a great sight to see for anyone out there.
Jack Draper not feeling his greatest out on court right now pic.twitter.com/MczakTVpZc
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) September 6, 2024
However, fans appreciated the fact that the Londoner continued to give it his all despite not feeling well.
Refused to stop as well! What an attitude.
— Joe (@joeywally86) September 6, 2024
And he kept going! What a champ
— Kiki (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ ✨ (@kikixpearll) September 6, 2024
What a spirit draper has….giving excellent fight despite vomiting
— (@ABprakash01) September 6, 2024
I’m now forever a Jack Draper fan. Dude can barely move and he’s still going at it. Vomits 3 times in one set and still takes it to a tiebreak.
I hope he wins a slam one day.
— absolutelyEpic137 (@totallyEpic137) September 6, 2024
After suffering a 5-7, 6-7, 2-6 loss in his best result in a major tournament, Draper even addressed the same situation during the press conference. Apart from getting jitters, the physical match being played under the scorching heat also played a huge role in feeling nauseous.
“Obviously it was extremely humid today… I think it was obviously a very physical match… 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,” Draper said.
This admission shows that while Draper is honest, he would have to work extremely hard from here if he needs to be taken seriously as a Grand Slam contender anywhere. Nevertheless, he would go down as arguably the breakout star of the tournament and many sponsors could line up for him due to his increased popularity.
The manner in which he trolled Andre Agassi and Andy Murray publicly, was classic British-style banter which was received very well. Could he achieve superstardom in the sport like Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz? Time will tell.
