Jannik Sinner Advances to First US Open 2024 Final, Defeats Jack Draper in Semifinal
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated Jack Draper 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in their semifinal match to secure his place in the US Open final, capping up an incredible 2024 hard-court campaign.
After defeating the occasionally struggling No. 25 seed in three hours and three minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the defending champion of the Australian Open and top seed is one victory away from capping an incredible season with two Grand Slam victories.
At Flushing Meadows, the top-seeded player in the world and his erstwhile junior opponent were in the final four for the first time, but Sinner progressed to get closer to a second major championship in 2024.
Even though Sinner had more experience overall than Draper, this was both players’ biggest-ever US Open match; Sinner’s best finish came in 2022 when he fell to future champion Carlos Alcaraz in a memorable quarterfinal.
Sinner, who is making his sixth main-draw appearance at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, has had an incredible season, winning his first major in Melbourne as well as two Masters 1000 titles at the Miami Open and the Cincinnati Open. Sinner has been at his best on hard courts.
Sinner, the most recent winner of the Masters, arrived in New York under cloud of controversy even though he had tested positive for doping in two tests earlier in the spring. The 23-year-old was still asked about his team, which prompted him to split from fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi.
Sinner stuck with the ATP Award-winning coaching duo of Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, and the two helped Sinner navigate the US Open draw. Sinner won four sets over 2021 winner Daniil Medvedev to get to the semifinals, dropping just one set in the opening week.
Draper won his best-ever Grand Slam result, defeating No. 10 seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-5, 6-2, during an even more impressive run to the final four. In his first four matches, he lost just 26 games.
He was playing against Sinner for the first time on the singles court since 2021, when he served notice at Queen’s Club on the grass. However, they had recently shared the court in doubles, where they had competed at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal.
“Jannik is a close friend of mine,” Draper remarked prior to their semifinal matchup.
We communicate with each other throughout both happy and unhappy times. Playing this sport as a young man is difficult.You’re traveling, engaging in a physically and mentally taxing sport, and it’s challenging because we don’t have many friends.
Following a tense beginning, Draper overcame a 0–30 disadvantage in the first game to take the lead and exchange breaks with Sinner when it seemed that the first set would go to a tiebreaker.
After weathering the longest game to date to find himself serving for the first set, Sinner took a bold play with Draper serving at five games apiece. Sinner ended the opening set in 56 minutes with a 116 mph first serve that the British player drove long, outmuscling Draper en way to three set points.
Just as in the first set, Draper saved three break points in a thirty-minute triptych of games to hold the second set on serve. With a love hold, Sinner turned the tables on Draper, who then had to save a fourth break point when the British player committed a ninth double fault.
After turning it around, Draper had a comedy of errors in the next two games. First, the court became momentarily unusable due to perspiration from his sneakers. Then he changed his shoes, and as a ball sailed out of his pocket, he yelled a let. Despite the distractions, he stayed ahead and, following a skillfully played volley, got the Ashe audience to stand.
Draper continued from the back of the court, even as he started to feel physically sick. Before the two played the best point of the match, with Sinner playing incredible defense and launching a bomb of a forehand in response to a Draper overhead, he and Sinner both called for the trainer—Sinner for his wrist, and Draper for what appeared to be a heat ailment.
Draper, who fell unwell on the court for the third time, lost the set in a tiebreaker, trailing 5-1 at the first change of ends. In less than two and a half hours, Sinner won five set points by forcing a forehand error. He won the first set on his serve.
Draper continued despite falling behind two sets and experiencing some physical discomfort that caused him to lose some intensity. He held the third set afloat until the sixth game, when Sinner earned break point with a winning backhand return and converted with another backhand.
Sinner was one game away from winning after a love hold, and as the match neared the three-hour mark, the Italian attempted to close it out by following a Draper drop shot to advance to match point. Sinner crossed the finish line and advanced to his second major final of his career with a last-second backhand return winner.
The victor of the second semifinal between Frances Tiafoe, ranked 20th, and Taylor Fritz, ranked 12th, will face Sinner in his maiden US Open final. Sinner defeated Tiafoe in the Cincinnati final before the Open. In any case, it will mark the first time an American has advanced to a Grand Slam title match since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.
