British No.1 tennis player Jack Draper has revealed a big change that has helped propel him to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time ever.
Draper clinched his maiden ATP Tour title earlier this summer and has enjoyed the best season of his career, with some even making comparisons to Andy Murray.
He downed Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club but his form at the US Open has been even more remarkable with Draper enjoying a superb purple patch in New York.
The 22-year-old just beat 10th-seed Alex de Minaur and now faces a showdown with the world No.1 Jannik Sinner, who has praised Draper ahead of their match.
Draper is just the fourth man in the Open Era to reach the US Open semi-finals and he is yet to drop a set – becoming the first player to go 14-0 in sets in the tournament’s main draw since Emma Raducanu’s run to the 2021 women’s title.
Ahead of his semi-final battle with controversial Italian superstar Sinner, Draper has named the one key change he has made which has resulted in a huge boost.
That change is his improved ability to play on with injuries, as he explained in his post-match press conference at Flushing Meadows.
‘I felt something on set point in the first set,’ Draper said. ‘I was a little bit worried about it at the time but then I played two sets on it.
‘I think one of the things this year which has helped me to sort of be better is I’m mentally a lot better.
‘I feel like I’m aware that I’m obviously playing so much tennis and competing so much and putting my body through so much that I’m going to pick up little niggles and injuries and I’ve got to just keep on going.
‘At the end of the day it didn’t get any worse, and I felt good towards the end. I was happy it didn’t turn into a problem.’
Meanwhile, Draper is playing down comparisons to British tennis legend Murray as he told ESPN: ‘I want to be Jack Draper, not Andy Murray.
‘If I think too much about trying to be like him and achieve all he has, that’s quite unrealistic to be honest.’