US OPEN

September 1, 2022

Jack Draper

Press Conference

J. DRAPER/F. Auger-Aliassime

6-4, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Could you take us through the match.

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, was a tough match. He's obviously a top player for a reason. Someone, again, I've been watching for the last few years, wanting a chance to play against him.

To beat him in a Grand Slam is obviously a great achievement for myself. I'm proud of the way I performed out there today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. When you sealed match point, an elongated screaming into the ground. What was going through your head?

JACK DRAPER: Just all the hard work that I've put in the last few years is for these moments. Obviously myself it means a lot to, but all the people around me that support me on a daily basis, that go through the highs and lows with me. This is a great moment.

I'm proud of the way my body held up as well. I felt mentally, physically, in a good place. Not so easy against someone as physical as Felix. A lot of emotions. I'm obviously happy with myself, yeah.

Q. This is all so new to you. How exciting is it to realize your level can match the very best players in the world?

JACK DRAPER: I think I've known my tennis ability has been good for a long time now. I've obviously had the privilege to hit with Andy, Cam, Dan at the NTC. They're top players in their own right. I know I could hold my own a while back with them.

It's more been about how am I going to cope mentally and physically at this level and do it consistently. That's what top-tier tennis is all about, being able to be there every single point, compete with these guys.

Yeah, I think I've known that my tennis is there, it's just about the process of how I'm going to cope physically and mentally.

Q. It's gone midnight. How do you adjust to this, late nights, early rises?

JACK DRAPER: Luckily I've had a lot of experience with it over the last few weeks in Montreal, also with Winston-Salem. We played a lot of night matches. Actually I feel pretty good right now, which just shows I've adapted well to it already, playing late matches.

You got to learn to be able to shut down and sort of just stay off your phone, try and get to sleep as soon as you get back, do all the right things, eat, sleep.

At the end of the day I've had a great win today, but I want to go further. A tough challenge ahead.

Q. You won't look at your phone?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I'll try to stay off my phone. More to do with the fact there's not a lot of time now. I need to get to sleep so that I recover the best I can. Don't even know what day it is today.

Q. Wednesday.

JACK DRAPER: For Friday, recover for my next match, really important.

Q. You were moving well today. Wondering how that has developed? How happy are you with that?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I mean, I think I've always moved pretty well. It's just been tough because some of the injuries I had. I ruptured my ATFL and my ankle. Last year I was moving like a slug for about six months.

I worked hard on my physicality with my team. That has been one area that I have had to really focus on the speed, agility around the court.

I think I read the game pretty well. I wouldn't say I'm that fast. But maybe I look fast because I sort of read the game really well. Yeah, a process. I still have a lot to improve on, but I'm really happy with the way I'm moving.

Q. What sort of challenge are you expecting from Khachanov?

JACK DRAPER: I think some of the Brits know Khachanov. I've watched him a fair bit. A tough competitor. He's physical. It's going to be a really tough match. He's been inside of the top 50 for a long time now.

So in a Grand Slam, it's going to be a physical match again, like I said. Hopefully I can bring the same level.

Q. Andy was on Ashe today, which is challenging, people wandering. Louis Armstrong is pretty noisy. How easy is it to engage with that but also block it out?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I think in a five-set match I'm learning that you've got to try and deal with your emotions, try to stay really calm. You win two sets and you got to start all over again.

I think it was definitely a different experience playing on a stadium court here. I thought the crowd was great obviously, but there's a lot of noise going on the whole time. I've never seen it where people are getting up and going out the door when I'm hitting a forehand, stuff like that. When you're serving, you got to just get on with it with people around talking, walking, whatever.

I think the energy is really cool. I think they almost pick a side, choose one side, saying let's go Felix, one side saying let's go me.

Thrive off the energy here for sure, but it's definitely an experience.

Q. You will definitely be in the top 50 now. How significant a milestone is that for you?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, mad really. My target at the start of the year was two things: stay injury-free and try to break the top hundred. Obviously I'm going to be top 50, like you said, maybe.

Yeah, I'm obviously very proud of myself. It's a nice thing for all my hard work that I've put in on a daily basis with the people that care about me and support me.

Hopefully onwards and upwards from here.

Q. How different does this feel from playing Wimbledon a couple times, just playing in New York?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I think the energy is obviously a bit different. Maybe a bit more vocal here. Maybe there's less people in the crowd. Maybe on Court 1 it would be quite full on a day like today.

No, I think they're very unique tournaments. It's exciting to play here. I think I'm thriving on the hard courts. I'm improving all the time. Yeah, like I said, I hope in my next match I can keep going.

Q. Could you hear anything going on in Ashe during your match, noise bleeding over to you?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, a little bit. I think they showed it on the TV when she won. There was a big round of applause. I think she beat the 2 seed, right? That's obviously an amazing achievement.

I think it was weird, it seemed like yesterday everyone came to do this leaving party almost, and she's gone on and won two matches. I think it must be incredibly difficult for her, playing her with this sort of support she is getting in New York.

I was on one of the outside courts yesterday, it's almost tough playing because the noise was so loud. You felt like everything was vibrating.

What an incredible athlete, what an amazing career. Yeah, must be pretty exciting to come here and watch her.