U.S. Open 2024: Jack Draper did Taylor Fritz a favor by giving Jannik Sinner a tussle
Jack Draper returns to Jannik Sinner during their U.S. Open semifinal at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
U.S. Open men’s tennis is begging for a Great American Hero, and there are few better suited to it than Taylor Fritz. But for a few brief hours, under the pristine blue September sky, that hero was British.
Jack Draper, seeded 25th and seemingly picked by absolutely no one to win this tournament, did not unseat top-seeded Jannik Sinner in the first semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday. And if you boil things down to their elements, he lost in straight sets: 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Ho-hum, right? A 22-year-old upstart lost to the best tennis player in the world. Draper has never won a Grand Slam tournament, he has exactly one singles title and he vomited on the court Friday — twice. In print, everything points to the idea that the moment was too big, the opponent too formidable.
When you take into consideration the fact that Fritz and Frances Tiafoe played a tough five-set match to send Fritz into the final later that evening, it feels like little more than a footnote.
But reality creates a clearer picture of the epic earlier battle — of Draper fighting back to win a momentous point in the second set after clearing his stomach, and of Sinner on his heels and grabbing his wrist later in that set, injured.
Afterward, Draper admitted to being anxious, ill and dehydrated after throwing up. Did he think of retiring?
“No, no, no,” he said, almost flummoxed by the question. “I’m not going to retire in the semis of a Grand Slam. I know the last set, it probably looked like from courtside or on TV . . . but at the end of the day, I always try and give my best.”
This is the drama we’re all here for, right? But if we pan out and look at the bigger picture, there are even greater reasons to appreciate Draper’s exhausting contribution to the U.S. Open.
The locals want Fritz to win — a U.S. man hasn’t captured a men’s Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick did it here at Flushing Meadows in 2003 — and Sinner is the biggest obstacle. Friday’s punishing match, then, felt like a British gift on par with Cheddar cheese and apple pie (yes, both came from England).
Fritz’s duel against Tiafoe was beyond punishing — a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 gantlet — but Sinner’s match against Draper was no jaunt, either. And there’s going to be a second foe the Italian will have to face Sunday.
“The atmosphere is what it’s gonna be,” Sinner said. “I mean, we are in America, we are in New York playing against an American, so it’s gonna be, for sure, the crowd a little bit more on their side. But it’s normal. It’s like when I play in Italy . . . I’m going to accept that. I have my team and my people who are close to me.”
He’ll need them. Because Sunday will be a spectacle.
This year’s U.S. Open has had an element of chaos to it, and in the best way. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic were eliminated early, leaving a wide-open field. The American men — Fritz, Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul and Brandon Nakashima — have given a country hope, while the American women, represented this year by Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro in the semifinals, are continuing a streak of dominance.
The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has been a live wire of excitement, and though professional athletes will speak time and again about not making the moment too big, it’s clear everyone knows what’s at stake. After decades of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic, there’s finally a chance for a breakthrough.
An American man hasn’t reached a Grand Slam final since 2009 and hasn’t reached a U.S. Open final since 2006; both those marks were courtesy of Roddick. Fritz, who’s been tapping at the door for years, is now beating at it with both fists.
“I think we’ve all been knocking on the door,” Tiafoe said after his quarterfinal match. “Taylor’s been in and out of the top 10 or top 15. Myself, I was top 10 this time last year. Tommy is knocking on the door of quarters, playing great . . . It’s only a matter of time, and the game is open. It’s not like it once was where you make quarterfinals, you play Rafa and you’re looking at flights. I mean, that’s just the reality. Now it’s just totally different. And no one’s unbeatable. Especially later in the season where guys are maybe a little bit cooked, maybe just not as fresh and they’re vulnerable.”
At the time, Tiafoe’s words felt true, but there still was an element of doubt. It’s been so long, Sinner is so good. Could this really be the year?
And then Jack Draper took the court, played the world’s No. 1 to an inch of his ability and showed us what was possible. After that, Fritz showed his mettle in a marathon of wills.
A Brit started this thing, and in historical fashion, it’s going to be up to an American to finish it.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
