Brit and American reach maiden Grand Slam semi-finals
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTThis time last year, Jack Draper was ranked No.123 in the world.
He had missed nearly three months of action due to a shoulder injury and returned for the North American hard-court swing, looking to find his form ahead of the US Open.
In New York, he upset the then 17th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz en route to a maiden Grand Slam fourth round.
A year later, Draper is enjoying another breakthrough in the Big Apple as he stormed into the first major semi-final of his career with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 result against No.10 seed Alex de Minaur on Wednesday.
He has yet to drop a set on his way to the final four and has been broken just three times through five matches, saving 25/28 break points.
The powerful lefty is the first British man since Andy Murray in 2012 to reach the semi-finals at the US Open, and he’ll take on his good friend, world No.1 Jannik Sinner, for a place in the championship match.
“I haven't really thought of anything. I don't think much is going through my mind. It's a little bit weird. I'm just trying to focus on what's important, what I've got to keep doing, what I've got to try and do in the next match,” said Draper of his mindset navigating all these new experiences.
“For now I'm just focusing on my recovery, definitely staying off my phone, and just trying to focus on what's important, and also enjoying the win, not taking these moments for granted.”
Draper sees 2023 as a real turning point for him, especially with how he rebounded from his injury.
“I've been working so hard for such a long time now. When I had my injury setbacks and taking a lot of time off over the summer because of my shoulder injury, I had to watch all these young, amazing players winning amazing tournaments,” he explained.
“I'm playing on the biggest stage in the world and I felt like I just wasn't doing enough to get to that point myself.
“This is not like an overnight thing for me. I've believed for a long time that I've been putting in the work and doing the right things, and I knew that my time would come. I didn't know when it would be, but hopefully from here I can do a lot of amazing things. I'm very proud of myself.”
Top-seeded Sinner had to dig deep to knock out 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev with a roller coaster 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 performance.
Squaring off for the third time at a major this season, Sinner, who had the upper hand in their Australian Open final in January, exacted revenge on Medvedev, who defeated the Italian at Wimbledon this summer.
The top seed converted 5/15 break points against Medvedev, and was particularly impressive at the net, winning 28/33 of the points up front.
“I think there were many keys today. Tactically and obviously starting with break up in the first and third, it helps you a little bit with the confidence, that’s what he did in the second set. But I had some break points to break back; I couldn't. It helped me also mentally to stay there in every moment,” said Sinner, who is now on a nine-match winning streak, having lifted the trophy in Cincinnati last month.
“I’m happy how I handled the situation. It's very tough against him.”
Sinner has now made the semi-finals at each of the four majors and is the first player born in the 1990s or 2000s to tick that box.
Jessica Pegula always had the belief she could surpass the Grand Slam quarter-final hurdle; she was just sick of being asked about it all the time.
The American No.6 seed entered her clash with world No.1 Iga Swiatek on Wednesday carrying a 0-6 record in major quarter-finals she contested in the past.
It was a statistic that had been haunting her and it is a winless run she has finally snapped.
In a highly-anticipated last-eight clash at Flushing Meadows, Pegula handed five-time major champion Swiatek a 6-2, 6-4 in under 90 minutes to join her fellow Americans Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, and Emma Navarro in the final four at their home Slam.
“I wanted to be that fourth American so bad, to make the semis,” Pegula said on ESPN after her win.
Against Swiatek, Pegula won 77 per cent of the points on her first serve and benefitted from an uncharacteristic 41 unforced errors off of the Pole’s racquet.
It was the Buffalo native’s fourth win over Swiatek, from 10 career meetings, and it earned her a semi-final showdown with crafty Czech Karolina Muchova, whom she defeated in her Cincinnati opener last month.
Pegula enters the final four having won 14 of her last 15 matches, with a title run in Toronto and a final showing in Cincinnati under her belt in the build up to this US Open.
“It wasn't so much the round. It's just, like, winning a big match... There's a lot of other variables; beating her, No.1 player in the world, (Arthur) Ashe (stadium), prime time, trying to make a semi-final, knowing that I'm up, knowing that I'm playing well, I'm giving myself a really good opportunity,” Pegula said of the occasion.
“I've had some really good wins, I feel like, the last couple of weeks, and been playing some really good tennis. So at the same time, I still was pretty relaxed and felt like I was going to be able to get the job done.”
Earlier in the day, the remarkable Muchova punched her ticket to a second consecutive US Open semi-final with a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Brazil’s No.22 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.
We say remarkable because in between both of those semi-finals, Muchova had wrist surgery and spent 10 months on the sidelines.
The former Roland-Garros runner-up was out of action between September 2023 and June 2024 and is through to the last-four stage in just her sixth tournament back.
Muchova had to leave the court to visit the restroom during her quarter-final against Haddad Maia and later revealed she is fighting a stomach bug.
Through to the fourth major semi-final of her career, Muchova reflected on her time after she underwent wrist surgery.
“When I go back to February, I have to say I wasn't always that positive. It was tough moments honestly when I couldn't move the arm and couldn't do much,” she said.
“But, yeah, it's few bad days, and then I always try to just regroup and focus on the step that I could do, what's the first step I can do towards recovery.”
For the first time since 2003, two American women and two American men have reached the semi-finals in singles at the US Open.
Muchova is the first Czech woman to reach consecutive semi-finals at the US Open since Helena Sukova in 1987.
Sinner is the third Italian man to reach the US Open semi-finals in the Open Era after Corrado Barazzutti in 1977 and Matteo Berrettini in 2019.
The Italian is the fourth active male player to complete the set of all four Grand Slam semi-finals, and the first born after 1988 to achieve that feat.
Medvedev committed 57 unforced errors in his four-set loss to Sinner.
The lob from Haddad Maia, the no-look from Muchova... the ladies certainly put on a show on Wednesday.
This was some supreme court coverage from Medvedev.
Meanwhile, Sinner did this!
Earlier in the day, Draper dazzled with this shot...
“Me and my husband are such big fans of Iga, so to come here and watch her work is just a blessing and an honour.”
– Seven-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast Simone Biles reveals she is an admirer of world No.1 Iga Swiatek. Game recognises game, as they say.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
