US OPEN

September 4, 2024

Jack Draper

Press Conference

J. DRAPER/A. de Minaur

6-3, 7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Jack, if you would, your thoughts on the win.

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, was a solid match from my side. Obviously first match on Ashe, first quarterfinal, was kind of a different experience. I've obviously played Alex a few times and know he's a really tough competitor.

You know, I thought it was just a solid match all around. Proud of my performance. There were some ups and downs during the match, but I felt in general I served pretty well, and, you know, I did a good job to come through.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You obviously strapped your leg midway through the second set (struggling). How are you feeling now and have you got any concerns for Friday's match?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah. You know, I felt something on set point in the first set. You know, I was a little bit worried about it at the time but then I played two sets on it.

I think one of the things this year that has helped me to sort of be better is, you know, I'm mentally a lot better. I feel like, you know, I'm aware that I'm obviously playing so much tennis and competing so much and putting my body through so much that I'm going to pick up little niggles and injuries, and I've got to just keep on going. At the end of the day it didn't get any worse, and I felt good towards the end.

Yeah, I was happy it didn't turn into a problem.

Q. You've talked a lot about how much you believe you're capable of performing like this and going deep in big tournaments. Despite that, I'm curious if you surprise yourself at all with the way you've handled yourself throughout the fortnight and the way you have played, and also what you're most happy about in general?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, it's weird. I don't think, to be honest, I haven't really thought of anything. I don't think much is kind of going through my mind. It's a little bit weird. I'm just trying to focus on what's important, what I've got to keep doing, what I've got to try and do in the next match. For now I'm just focusing on my recovery, you know, definitely staying off my phone, and just trying to focus on what's important, and also enjoying the win, not taking these moments for granted.

I think, yeah, I mean, I've been working so hard for such a long time now. I'd say last year was a real turning point for me, kind of when I had my injury setbacks and taking a lot of time off over the summer because of my shoulder injury, you know, I had to sort of watch all these young, amazing players winning amazing tournaments. I'm playing on the biggest stage in the world and I felt like, you know, I just wasn't doing enough to get to that point myself.

You know, this is not kind of like an overnight thing for me. I've believed for a long time that I've been putting in the work and doing the right things, and I knew that my time would come. I didn't know when it would be, but hopefully from here, you know, I can do a lot of amazing things. I'm very proud of myself.

Q. I just wonder, you mentioned in your on-court interview you were aware that maybe something wasn't quite right with Alex. How quickly did you realize that and how strange is that when you're playing someone like that to just try and stay focused and not think about it?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, it's hard. You know, I definitely was aware that obviously Alex hasn't played since Wimbledon. I know he had a tough injury. Whenever I've played Alex or watched him in the past, the guy moves incredibly well, and he's so fast, you know, relentless off the ground. Doesn't miss balls.

I definitely felt like towards the end of the first set I noticed that maybe, I didn't know he was maybe struggling with injury, but I definitely felt like maybe the way he was was a bit subdued, maybe that kind of made me realize, wow, he's maybe got something slightly wrong.

But then again, maybe I was hurting a little bit as well, so it was a bit of a strange situation. I definitely felt in the second set I had a few opportunities, and it was there for me to sort of take the set pretty early on, but I didn't. I think part of that was to do with maybe focusing on myself too much and not sort of realizing what was going on the other side of the court.

Also, it's tough, I was playing someone who, you know, moves still pretty well and was making balls and it was kind of difficult to play the way I wanted to play. Like, I started becoming more passive and was sort of playing for him to miss instead of playing the tennis that I'm supposed to be playing, which is to be aggressive, to be on the front foot.

But it is a challenge playing someone who maybe isn't 100%. But yeah, like I said, it was kind of like a weird situation.

Q. What makes you feel your time has come now? Are you ready for anybody or anything now?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I mean, I don't know, because I still had a lot of these experiences, you know. I've never been in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. I didn't know what to expect. You know, I just don't know.

But one thing I do know is that I've got amazing people around me, I've got a good team. I don't feel kind of overawed by the situations I've been in. It's not getting to me in any sort of way.

You know, I try and stay off my phone, try and sort of just do the things that make me happy and do the things that are important, you know. And like I said, I think it helps the fact that I've been in a lot of kind of low points already in my career where I've had injuries, I've had setbacks, I've had times when I've maybe thought to stop or, yeah, am I cut out for this sport, am I really good enough and all these sort of stuff.

I kept on believing in myself, kept on working. Those are hard moments, you know. This is kind of not a hard moment compared to that. This is a privilege, and this is an honor to be in this position. You know, this is why I work so hard, so I've got to just keep it going in my stride.

At the end of the day, I'm not afraid of being in these positions. You know, I want to keep on doing this, and this is why I play.

Q. What have you liked most about the way you've played through these five matches? Are there any elements of your game maybe that you've executed better than you expected?

JACK DRAPER: I think coming here this week, you know, I've been feeling like a more complete player, like physically I've always maybe in the past worried a little bit about playing five sets and mentally and emotionally it being too much for me, and kind of just thinking, am I good enough to sort of play these best players in the world in best-of-five sets and stuff?

Even though I have won most -- well, all of them in three sets, I still feel like I have got so much left in my locker, like, I'm not worrying about if it goes longer, if it goes for a long time. It gives me a lot of peace of mind knowing that my body feels good or robust, and I'm ready to go the distance if I need to.

And, yeah, I feel like my tennis feels really flowing and I feel like I'm not using too much energy when I'm playing the points. That was something, you know, by playing more aggressive tennis, you know, I thought that maybe I had to force it all the time and use up so much energy doing it. But instead, you know, I think when we watch the best players in the world, one thing they do is they do everything pretty effortless and they do it within themselves and they do things with such good efficiency.

I think I'm sort of been working physically really hard, and I think that's helping me to sort of maybe be more efficient and conserve energy. I feel really strong out there, so that's something that's really improved for me.

Q. Does having played each of the potential semifinal opponents in the past help you because you've been on court against them or because it was different surfaces, and especially against one of them, it's been many years, are those matches completely irrelevant?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, definitely. I think it helps being on court with both of them. When I played Daniil in Rome, I didn't know what to expect. I feel like, you know, when I played him, maybe a lot of my errors and, you know, the way I played in that match was kind of based on who I was playing and all these type of things.

I think it is tough when you play those best players in the world you don't know what to expect, and you watch these guys winning Grand Slams on TV and stuff, and you think, wow, I'm going to go out there tomorrow and they're going to be way too good for me. Whereas if you put your game on the court and if you do the right things, you do get chances here and there. Even the best players in the world, they only win 53%, 54% of the points so it's just about how clinical you are when it really matters.

I look forward to watching them later. They're both incredible players, and big respect to both of them. I think whatever happens it will be a really good semifinal, and hopefully, you know, I'll bring out my best tennis.

Q. Looking at the semifinals, one of your possible opponents could be Sinner. You guys played doubles together back in Canada. I was wondering if you have had the opportunity to keep in touch throughout the summer, if you've exchanged any messages throughout the tournament and has he been supportive of your tournament here?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I mean, we've always kept in touch since I've been on tour the last couple of years. Jannik is a good friend, someone I'm definitely close to.

You know, we send each other messages in good moments, bad moments. It's a tough sport to play when you're a young guy. You're kind of, you're on the road, you're playing such a relentlessly intense sport, both physically, emotionally, and it's difficult, we haven't got many friends.

So to sort of have the support of someone who's going through it themselves is really big. So, yeah, huge respect for Jannik and was amazing to play doubles with him in Montreal. I think we played great doubles together. I'd never won a doubles match on the tour, so to play obviously with the No. 1 player in the world was amazing and definitely learned a lot about playing doubles and had a lot of fun with him.

So it was really nice to be able to step out on court with him. Yeah, I'm sure we will continue to stay in touch.

Q. I know you said you have been trying to stay off your phone. I just wondered, A, whether you have had any contact at all with Andy Murray over the last couple of weeks. And B, in the time you have spent with him over the years, have you ever spoken to him about these sort of moments, these sort of experiences that he will have had?

JACK DRAPER: You know, I haven't spoke to Andy, no. I think he's enjoying his retirement. I think he's playing lots of golf and, you know, just enjoying all his family. He's never seen his family in the last couple of years, so I think, you know, they are enjoying having him around.

You know, I have spoke to Andy a few times in the past about obviously playing big Grand Slam matches and all these types of things. You know, I feel like when people or, you know, people you respect give you advice, you know, it's obviously, it's always good, but at the end of the day, it's their experience, you know.

I think it's important to, you know, live these situations yourself and understand it for yourself, because everyone reacts differently to different pressures, different situations, different emotions.

So, you know, I know Andy is there for me if I need it, but at the same time, you know, I feel pretty relaxed. I feel pretty good, and I'm just taking it one day at a time, and looking to keep on going forward. Yeah, I know he's always there for me if I need him.