Key events
Sinner leads 7-5, 7-6 (3) after the second set
Sinner wins the first four points of the tie-break with ease as Draper continues to hit balls long and out. At 4-0, Draper hits a drop shot near the net and though Sinner returns, the Briton volleys it into the open space to get on the board.
He can’t follow it up though after hitting two forehands wide, giving Sinner the 6-1 lead. There is a couple of unforced errors from the Italian but he marches onwards after taking the second set. A fist pump from the Italian and Draper walks off the court.
Sinner 7-5, 6-6 Draper* (*denotes server) Draper is sick and again and Sinner tells the umpire that it is the third time. She then tells Draper that he can’t keep wiping it away with the towel that he puts back in the box as it is a health and safety issue. The Briton does not look well at all and Sinner holds. We go to a tie-break.
One hour and 20 minutes into this second set.
Sinner 7-5, 5-6 Draper* (*denotes server) Draper hits a perfect forehand down the line and follows it up with an ace. Not a single break in this set means the Briton will at least get a tie-break.
Some more emails!
Dino thinks the writing is on the wall:
It has been very messy and Draper will surely lose, but it does feel as though there’s a roadmap for the Brit to compete with the world’s best. He’s taken control of a lot of these rallies, with both power and guile.
David is unhappy with handling of Draper’s wellbeing:
The vomiting issue for a professional athlete AND HIS TEAM is inexcusable. Any amateur athlete in an endurance sport knows how to hydrate in competition. Draper is a fantastic player. But what is going on here? This is simply a failure to learn how to hydrate with isotonic drinks. He’s taking on too much fluid either before or during the match and he is swallowing electrolytes faster than his body can manage. Four years as a top level pro. How is that possible?
Dave sees the brightside for Draper:
The match isn’t quite going perfectly for Jack yet but at least he doesn’t have to put up with that insipid “let’s go” chant. That’s got to be the worst, weakest and most uninspiring sound in world sport.
Is it mind over matter? Here is what Ellen thinks:
Sinner’s last few matches were played with brain power as much as brawn and fun to watch. Today we’re back with muscle force and it has meant an adjustment for Sinner. Hope he can continue to use both mind and muscle for the rest of this semi-final!
And Gaylor has jokes:
Sinner vs Sicker? What play in such circumstances. Warriors both! You can only be missing the old guard if you don’t like tennis.
*Sinner 7-5, 5-5 Draper (*denotes server) Sinner hurt his left wrist which means we won’t see how it affects him until he is forced into multiple backhands. But he wins the game with relative ease after going ahead 40-15 and serving strong.
Medical timeout: Draper has taken about every tablet the doctor’s hands and has downed a lot of fluid. I am not sure if that is going to help his stomach in the immediate future. He also asks for new shoes (this will be his third pair) and has to tell the referee what his locker number is. Meanwhile, Sinner gets his wrist sprayed but not taped.
Sinner 7-5, 4-5 Draper* (*denotes server) Sinner wins an unreal point after Draper forces him to move around the court. He gets a standing ovation after a forehand speeds right past Draper. But he fell during the point and he shakes his wrist. He looks like he is in pain. Draper holds and immediately the doctors tend to the Briton while the physio takes a look at the Italian. Our semi-finalists are not in the greatest shape here at the moment.
*Sinner 7-5, 4-4 Draper (*denotes server) Two errors from Draper leaves him struggling right out of the gate. But wow! A massive point to make it 40-40 from the Briton. His crushing forehands have Sinner trying to slide on the hardcourt of Arthur Ashe before he hits the most delicate of backhand dropshot volleys.
After the third deuce, Draper seems to throw up on the court. He cleans his own sick up with his towel and the umpire asks if he wants to see the doctor but he asks to continue.
He does OK to stay in the point but Sinner holds one again.
Sinner 7-5, 3-4 Draper* (*denotes server) Fantastic slice followed by a perfect volley right at the net from Draper to get to 40-30 and he holds after an error from Sinner.
The Briton wins a service game without having to fend off break points! I was beginning to believe that was not possible.
*Sinner 7-5, 3-3 Draper (*denotes server) The world No 1 holds to love for the second time. He just makes it look so easy. Draper goes to the side to change his shoes because he is sweating through them and Sinner asks for his new side of the court to be wiped down due to the sweat.
Sinner 7-5, 2-3 Draper* (*denotes server) Draper gets to 40-15 with some good serves and well placed forehand. But Sinner drags out the next point and Draper, who is visibly a lot more tired than his opponent, hits a forehand out at the baseline.
We get to deuce after a double fault when Draper’s racquet slips in his fingers. For some reason he does not change it despite his coach telling him to … and he double faults again. Sinner gets the advantage and Draper hangs his head as he goes to the side to switch his racquet.
But Draper saves his fourth break point of the set. Sinner then hits a crosscourt out and Draper holds. The Briton is averaging about five minutes for every service game. Brutal.
*Sinner 7-5, 2-2 Draper (*denotes server) It can’t be the best feeling when you have to work so hard for your serve while your opponent breezes past a service game. Sinner holds to love in moments and Draper is back on the ball.
Sinner 7-5, 1-2 Draper* (*denotes server) Another gruelling game as Draper saves a break point with a nice volley. The pair then go back and forth to deuce multiple times before Draper hits some big serves to see it out. “That’s it! More points on your terms, Jack,” yells out his coach from the box.
*Sinner 7-5, 1-1 Draper (*denotes server) The Briton starts with a great forehand to start the game and there is a renewed confidence after he goes 30-0. But a banchand error and a Sinner ace levels it.
Sinner should get a violation after failing to serve on time but he apologises to the umpire just as it hits 0 and he somehow gets away with it. The commentators also say that the clock definitely paused on 5sec and 3sec. Very strange.
The shot clock gods get their revenge when Sinner double faults for the first time in this match and Draper has break point. He fails to capitalise and Sinner holds.
Two gruelling games at the start of set two.
Sinner 7-5, 0-1 Draper* (*denotes server) Draper is just looking a bit leggy when he is serving which is a bit worrying this early in the match but after three deuces he comes away with the game. It is the first game of the second set but that felt important. Small wins.
Some emails have come in after that first set.
Krishna reminisces:
I will be honest, this is not the quality of tennis you expect in a US Open semi-final. I really miss the big three.
And Kim makes her support clear:
Come on Jack. We need a tennis winner in this country of ours. Although we have won gold today in the men’s Paralympics also today.
Sinner takes the first set 7-5
The Italian looks so confident after breaking and he serves out to love.
Two games ago, he was almost down and out of the set but the world No 1 does what world No 1s do.
Some relative good tennis from Draper but he needs to settle down with the erratic play. Six double faults and 19 unforced errors.
Sinner 6-5 Draper* (*denotes server) It is not feeling straightforward for either player on the serve at the moment. Draper hits his fourth double fault which makes it 30-30 but then hits an ace at 125 mph.
He then attempts a drop shot but Sinner covers the court so well and Draper hits back his shot out.
An ace followed by a double fault has the crowd oohing and ahhing and the sweat is pouring off Draper. We see a battle between the forehand and the backhand before Sinner breaks in his fourth break point after another double fault.
One of the ballkids is dragging a towel around the baseline on the side Draper was on, wiping off the Briton’s sweat. He also changes his top and his racquet grip before Sinner serves for the set.
*Sinner 5-5 Draper (*denotes server) Sinner misses a groundstroke you don’t expect him to miss as the ball flies up into the stands. The lucky supporter waves his new souvenir to the crowd.
But the Italian goes up 30-15 and he is obviously staying away from Draper’s forehand. He knows that he is struggling with it and is trying to change the pattern. He hits his own forehand winner down the line to make it 40-15. He tries the exact same move in the next game but the ball goes well out and we are at 40-30.
Draper gets to deuce after Sinner again hits his forehand out. But the Italian takes the advantage after the Briton responds late to a forehand in a 15 shot rally.
Sinner then holds with a serve that Draper can’t return.
Sinner 4-5 Draper* (*denotes server) The crowd audibly groan when Draper misses his first serve. He seems to have the New York crowd on his side. The instructions from his coach, James Trotman, in the coaching box are clear: “Take your time. Up and back. Here we go.”
The Briton goes down 30-15 but from a Sinner return, he rips a forehand at 81 mph just inside the sideline. He manages to hold and Sinner will now serve to stay in the set.
*Sinner 4-4 Draper (*denotes server) Sinner nets after a short rally to start off this game and then hits a backhand uncharacteristically wide to give Draper a 30-0 lead. The Italian nets again after a long rally and the New York crowd cheers … Can Draper capitalise here?
At first break point, Sinner serves and the ball flies off the top of Draper’s net to make it 40-15.
At second break point, Draper hits his 10th unforced error after overhitting a shot.
At third break point, Sinner then nets a backhand. Draper made is tough for himself but he breaks and gets back on level terms.
Sinner 4-3 Draper* (*denotes server) Sinner goes 30-15 up after Draper’s first serve percentage plummets to 53%. But a spinny forehand puts him back on level terms.
Sinner then hits a backhand that is out of reach for Draper. The Italian was just far enough behind the baseline to see that Draper was planning to move up after his second serve to hit a volley and he made the split decision to fire it far.
Our first break point … and Sinner strikes first in this semi-final.
*Sinner 3-3 Draper (*denotes server) Sinner does exactly what Draper did to him in the previous game with, his aggressive groundstrokes just too much for the world No 25. He gets to 40-0 and holds after Draper hits the ball out.
Sinner 2-3 Draper* (*denotes server) Smooth from Draper here as he once again makes the world No 1 move around, hitting a crosscourt shot near the baseline before dinking a volley. The shot variation continues and the Briton holds to love.
Good start from the Briton! You would never know this is his first grand slam semi-final.
*Sinner 2-2 Draper (*denotes server) Draper struggles with a return but manages to just lunge in time to get there. It means he is off balance for the rest of the point though as he rushes to the other side of the court. He just gets the ball over but it sets Sinner up for a perfect smash to make it 30-0. Draper responds with a good winner but Sinner sees out the game after the Briton completely mistimes a drop shot.
Sinner 1-2 Draper* (*denotes server) Another double fault from Draper. Can he get these nerves out of his system? He can in this game. He comes back to make it 40-15 and manages to move Sinner around, who in the final point hits a crosscourt forehand wide to wrap up the game.
*Sinner 1-1 Draper (*denotes server) The Italian serves well and Draper’s returns are just a bit sloppy. Sinner goes up 40-30 and then slams an ace to tie it up.
Sinner 0-1 Draper* (*denotes server) Draper’s early forehand goes out at the baseline and he follows up with a double fault to go down 0-30 … Is this why Sinner opted to receive first? Who knows. But the luck goes his way after Sinner’s forehand hits the tape and bounces out. Sinner then can’t make the next return to make it 30-30. The Briton then hits an ace and is able to see out the game. That third point was so important; Sinner had Draper on the ropes initially.
Here we go! Sinner won the coin toss and opted to receive so Draper will serve first. And play …
The players are out on Arthur Ashe. Jack Draper says he will compete like “an animal” in his tunnel interview and Jannik Sinner thinks his opponent will give him a tough test and that the conditions will be “faster” due to semi-final taking part during the day session.
It has just gone 8pm BST and play has been pushed back for about 15 minutes while the players continue their final warmups.
In tennis news away from the US Open, Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid are the 2024 Paralympic men’s wheelchair tennis doubles gold medallists. The pair beat the Japanese second seeds Tokito Oda and Takuya Miki in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 on Philippe Chatrier.
Tomorrow’s women’s singles final will see last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka take on the home crowd favourite Jessica Pegula. The Belarusian has reached the finals of the past four hardcourt majors and has made her presence felt at the semi-final stage or better in seven of the past eight she has competed in. Is there any way Pegula can make her presence matter on Arthur Ashe? Read below to see what Tumaini Carayol thinks.
In his bid for success in New York, Jack Draper has naturally been inspired by Emma Raducanu, who was the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a grand slam singles title.
What Emma did was obviously incredibly inspiring. I’ve known her from a young age and to see what she did was incredible. I was very proud of her, very excited, watching it thinking, obviously we’ve watched the likes of Andy Murray winning a grand slam from Great Britain, but her winning, it was just really a fairytale run. I definitely think as a competitor, it fuelled my fire. I really wanted to achieve what she’d done, winning a grand slam.
Read more on how Draper hopes to extend his run beyond the semi-finals against and his memories of facing Jannik Sinner at junior level.
How did these two get here? Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev in his quarter-final 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a turbulent tussle. Across the four sets, as the momentum swung back and forth, the combined force of Sinner’s devastating groundstrokes and defence were too much for Medvedev, who generally played below par in a match that required his very best tennis.
On the other hand, Jack Draper made light work of Alex de Minaur by winning 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. From the beginning, Draper was determined to dictate on his terms, pushing the Australian behind the baseline with his heavy topspin forehand and then searching for opportunities to dictate with it.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our live blog of the first men’s singles semi-final at the 2024 US Open between Jannik Sinner and Jack Draper.
Sinner has reached three grand slam semi-finals in 2024, winning the title in Melbourne at the beginning of the year and losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the last four at Roland Garros. The world No 1 is in fine-form as winner of the most recent Masters 1000 event, the Cincinnati Open, and has notched 10 wins or more over Top 10 players in back to back seasons.
This is Draper’s semi-final debut at a grand slam. The world No 25 had failed to progress beyond the fourth round at any major but the Briton is having a breakout year, winning his first ATP title in Stuttgart and making the final in Adelaide. Draper has made it to this stage at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set, the first man to do so since 2020. He is also the first Briton to reach the men’s singles semi-finals since Andy Murray in 2012.
This will be the second tour-level meeting between the two. The last and only meeting between the two at tour-level was in 2021 at Queen’s where a 19-year-old Draper beat the then world No 23 Sinner 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2).
With the American duo Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz competing in the other semi-final, a new champion will be crowned in New York on Sunday. Sinner defeated the last former champion in the competition, the 2021 winner Daniil Medvedev in the previous round.
Join me for what is sure to be an intriguing battle on Arthur Ashe. And if you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, predictions, theories or secrets you want to share then drop me an email. You can find all the information at the top of this blog.
Play scheduled for 8pm BST/3pm EST.
