How Britain's Draper became US Open semi-finalist

Jack Draper has become just the fourth British man to reach the US Open singles semi-finals in the Open era.

Getting the better of Zhang Zhizhen, Facundo Diaz Acosta, Botic van de Zandschulp, Tomas Machac and Alex de Minaur has carried him through to the last four, where world number one Jannik Sinner awaits.

We take a look at the tennis journey that has brought Draper to this point.

Draper was viewed as an exciting prospect from an early age in British tennis circles, but the first time he made his mark on a wider audience came in the Wimbledon juniors in 2018.

The left-hander was just 16 but caught the eye at the All England Club as he progressed through the rounds.

He faced a quarter-final against Lorenzo Musetti, who reached the men's semi-finals at SW19 this year, and saw off the much-fancied Italian before winning a marathon last-four battle against Nicolas Majia 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (6-8) 19-17.

Perhaps still exhausted after such an epic contest, Draper lost to Chinese Taipei’s Tseng Chun-hsin in the final, but there was enough to suggest there would be plenty more to come from him.

This has been a breakout year for Draper, who secured his first ATP title at the Stuttgart Open in June.

That elevated the 22-year-old to British number one status for the first time, but it was a few days later at Queen's that he really made people stand up and take notice.

Draper came up against Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the second round, with the Spaniard defending a 13-match winning streak on grass.

"Coming to Queen's for a home tournament, being British number one, you would think would put more stress on my shoulders - but it is the opposite," said Draper.

"I feel calm and relaxed because I know I'm doing the right things. I trust in my tennis and know I'm going to be tough to beat."

That calm was evident as Draper beat Alcaraz, who would later go on to defend his Wimbledon title, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

For so long, Andy Murray was the undisputed king of British tennis - but for much of his career, there was no obvious heir.

Draper put himself in contention when he took a set off Novak Djokovic on his Wimbledon debut in 2021, but injuries and fitness issues over the next couple of years threatened to derail his progress.

However, he has returned to full fitness in 2024 and during his final Wimbledon, Murray was effusive in his praise of his Davis Cup team-mate.

"Jack's definitely got the ability to go right to the top of the game," Murray said.

"He's a really exciting player to watch and I think he's got a big future."

While a second-round exit at SW19 followed, Draper's run in New York shows why he is so highly thought of by Murray.

And Draper's comments about Murray after his fourth-round win over Machac in New York show the feeling is mutual.

"I miss being next to his stinky shoes and all his stinky clothes," Draper said.

"But Andy's a legend and if I have half the career he's had then I'll be a happy man."

Draper's success so far means he follows 2012 champion Murray, 1997 runner-up Greg Rusedski and 2004 semi-finalist Tim Henman as British men who have reached the singles final four during the Open era in New York.

Draper is not one to shy away from the spotlight off the court either.

Glamorous photoshoots with stylish fashion magazines have shown his appeal to wider markets.

Tatler described him as having a "jawline sharper than a Stanley knife" when he was featured alongside fellow British players Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie last year, while he recently appeared in Vogue on his own.

"I quite enjoy being in front of the camera, if I'm looking good, that is," Draper quipped to Vogue.

Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor-in-chief, even sat with his support team during his fourth-round thrashing of Machac.

There was little chance of Draper avoiding tennis when he was younger given how involved his family is in the sport.

His father, Roger, was the chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association between 2006 and 2013.

Meanwhile, mother Nicky was one of Britain's top players as a junior and is now a tennis coach.

His older brother Ben was also a talented tennis player and competed at US college level while at University of California-Berkeley.

In more recent years, another member of the family, his dog Ozzy, has been important to Draper switching off away from the court.

He says the labradoodle helps him to relax because he "couldn't care less if I've had a bad day or a great day, he's always happy".

Away from tennis it must have been a mixed few days for Draper, who is a big Oasis fan and managed to get a ticket to see them next year.

But he also supports Manchester United - and things have gone less well for them...