Draper produces one of the best shots of the tournament in US Open exit

British tennis star Jack Draper’s US Open 2024 campaign came to a stuttering end, losing to Jannik Sinner in the men’s singles semi-final at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, on Saturday. The 22-year-old fell to a 7-5 7(7)-6 6-2 defeat and crashed out of the Grand Slam event.
Draper also had a unique celebration moment in the second set, winning a point in the eighth game with a sensational backhand volley. After getting the point, Draper simply looked at the crowd and pointed at his ears, as if asking them to chant his name. Here is the video:
During the match, it also looked like Sinner had sustained a wrist injury, but he managed to continue and seal the match. Draper’s ten double faults also helped the Italian during the match.
Sinner and Draper had earlier exchanged early breaks in the first set, but by the time the second set began, the Italian had complete control.
Draper managed to hold his serve through a marathon, a four-deuce opening game in the second set, but failed to convert his break point chance in the second game. After the sixth game, he even dropped his racket to change his shoes, and then threw up twice in the eighth game. Sinner also fell in the ninth game and looked like he was in pain.
After the match, Draper said, “”I’m not going to retire in the semis of a Grand Slam. I know the last set, you know, it probably looked liked from courtside or on TV that it was, you know, not a great look. was fighting hard. You know, I’m proud of myself. I tried to fight as hard as I can. Just not going to get it done against someone like that.”
“I just need to keep on learning, keep on growing, keep on having situations like today where I came unstuck. It’s experiences, doing all the right things, it’s training consistently, and over time you just progress and you get stronger and you get better,” he further added.