Draper dominates De Minaur to reach maiden Grand Slam semi-final

The Brit hasn’t dropped a set so far, and looked in supreme form versus the Australian

4 September 2024

Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic

Jack Draper continued his supremely impressive US Open form, defeating Alex De Minaur 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 to move into his first Grand Slam semi-final. The Brit hasn’t dropped a single set en route to the final four, only being broken three times over the course of his five wins.

Perhaps New York is a favourable environment for the newly-crowned semi-finalist, not having gone beyond the second round at any of the other three majors. Draper is also the first British male singles player to reach the semi-finals at the US Open since Andy Murray in 2012, where the three-time Grand Slam champion captured his first major.

The Brit will next play the winner of the quarter-final match between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner.

THE MATCH

In the first set, both players struggled with their first serve, with Draper managing to get 47 percent of his first serves in, whilst the Australian was down at 41 percent. However, it was the Brit who, unsurprisingly, did better behind the first strike, claiming 93 percent of points on his first serve, meanwhile, De Minaur was down at 64 percent.

Three of the first four games were breaks, two in favour of the eventual winner, breaking after just having been broken back for 3-1. Both held their service games until the end of the set, however, De Minaur managed to save three set points on his own serves at 5-3, held, but could not capitalise on a break point at 5-4, and Draper took the set on his sixth set point for 6-4.

The second set was more of the same, with the British No 1 breaking at 1-1, before not making use of a point for a double break at 3-1, and, as a result, was broken back at 4-3. From there, Draper would only lose two more points on serve, gaining the crucial break at 5-5, and serving out the set with his thunderous serve for 7-5.

Throughout the set, the Brit made effective use of the net, winning 9 of the 12 points that he played, and launched down 17 winners with a healthier first serve percentage of 69.

In the final set, it was more straightforward for Draper, only facing two break points, and breaking De Minaur’s serve at 2-2 and 4-2. During the final game, the Brit hit two of the best shots of the match – both huge forehand passing shots – and finished with a trademark ace to seal the set 6-2, and book his spot into the last four.

The biggest differential in the stats in this set was in the effectiveness of their second serves, with Draper winning 67 percent of points won on the second serve, and De Minaur down at 29 percent.

Draper speaks about growing confidence

Jack Draper summed up his feelings on claiming the victory, and moving into his first Grand Slam semi-final:

“Yeah, it’s amazing, honestly, to win my first match on the biggest court in the world, it’s a dream come true. Thank you for all the support, it means the world.”

The Brit had previously lost his last three meetings versus the Australian, and was asked after the match about what was different in this match compared to the losses:

“I think I played a solid match, I feel the best fitness-wise that I’ve felt in a long, long time, and that’s where Alex has got me in the past. I think he was also struggling a little bit with something that may have been helping me a little bit, but credit to Alex, he’s an amazing fighter, he’s an incredible player and we’re going to have many more battles to come.”

Brad Gilbert also asked Draper whether he would watch the match between Sinner and Medvedev:

“I’m a big sports fan, a big tennis fan, so I’ll definitely be watching the match tonight if it doesn’t go too late, and I’ll just enjoy the win and relax.”