Jack Draper is the first Briton since Andy Murray to reach the semi-finals of the US Open

NEW YORK — This may not have been the most exciting way for Jack Draper to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal, but it felt quite fitting.

His career was plagued by injuries at the start, but Draper's run to the last four at the US Open has been marked by his ability to outlast his opponents. He is yet to lose a set, so this is by no means a series of marathon matches. In the first round, Zhang Zhizhen retired due to injury in the third set; in the third set, Botic van de Zandschulp looked mentally and physically exhausted after beating Carlos Alcaraz; and in Wednesday's quarterfinal, Alex de Minaur was far from his usual physical level.

Draper, who took a medical timeout in the second set due to a right thigh problem, took full advantage of the Australian's problems to win 6-3, 7-5 and 6-2. Draper felt something in his leg on set point in the first set, but he was able to pull through.

“I think one of the things that has helped me get better this year is that I'm a lot better mentally,” he said.

It was a strange match. The talk at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center was that De Minaur had stopped training due to a lack of fitness. The Australian withdrew from Wimbledon in the quarterfinals due to a bad hip injury and was not expected to even play in the tournament, let alone reach the quarterfinals.

De Minaur, seeded 10th in New York, still relies heavily on his speed and movement, although he has added more weight and aggressiveness to his tennis over the past 12 months. He lacked his usual momentum in the early stages and although he traded breaks with Draper early in the first set, he promptly gave up his serve. Draper was gone.

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In the second set, Draper called the coach to attend to his right thigh when he was already a break behind. He did not appear to be greatly affected, holding his 0-3 lead immediately after the consultation and then forcing a break point on De Minaur's serve that he was unable to save. De Minaur saved seven of the nine break points he faced in the second set.

That resilience made a seemingly simple set much more complicated, and Draper eventually got broken himself. He managed another break in the 12th game, winning the set 7-5 and securing a 2-0 lead.

At times, Draper looked a little unsure how to deal with an opponent who was not quite on form. He hit some effective drop shots but also made some uncharacteristic errors as he tried to find the right balance between taking advantage of his opponent's difficulties and playing his normal game.

“It's a challenge to play someone who may not be 100 percent fit. It was a strange situation,” Draper said.

Draper made many changes to his tennis game during his transformative summer, but the most significant was learning to assert himself more in matches.

The third set was less problematic. A visibly battered De Minaur dropped his serve twice more and Draper served him out after just over two hours. Having lost all three of his previous encounters with De Minaur, Draper turned things around on Wednesday.

“Jack has played some really high-level tennis in the past but physically it has been a struggle,” said his coach James Trotman afterwards, crediting the British No. 1's physio and fitness coach for helping turn his fortunes around. “Jack, as many of you know, is not afraid of hard work and doing what it takes,” Trotman added.

Alex de Minaur was physically far from his usual level. (Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images)

After an extremely efficient tournament so far, Draper has made it to the semifinals without dropping a set. The last British winner here, Emma Raducanu, maintained that form until her title in 2021, winning the trophy with a perfect set score of 14-0, 20-0, including her three qualifying matches. In virtually every other respect, however, Draper and Raducanu's paths to the US Open finals couldn't be more different: his run follows a gradual improvement, hers came completely out of nowhere.

Although Draper remains a huge underdog to reach the final, this already feels like a landmark tournament as his next opponent will be either world number one Jannik Sinner or former champion Daniil Medvedev. De Minaur, who kindly declined to discuss his injury after the match, spoke about Draper's gradual improvement.

“He has weapons and he knows how to use those weapons effectively,” he said.

As for Draper's chances in the semifinals, De Minaur pointed to the surprise exits of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic and said: “He has big weapons and can hurt anyone. So, yeah, why not?”

Perhaps most impressive is his proactive approach to physicality, something that has previously hampered his progress as a player. Draper said earlier this summer that his body has been “made of glass” in recent years as he looked ahead to a 2023 in which he was frequently sidelined with multiple shoulder injuries.

The previous years were also marked by interruptions, and on the eve of this match, his coach James Trotman described 2024 as Draper's first full year on the tour. After beating De Minaur, Draper said that these physical problems even made him doubt his future as a tennis player. “I think it helps that I've had a lot of low points in my career where I've had injuries, had setbacks, had times where I've maybe thought about quitting or: am I suited to this sport, am I really good enough?”

First year or not, at 22, Draper is living up to his potential. With his win here, he becomes the first Brit to reach the semi-finals of the US Open since a guy called Andy Murray did it in 2012. That year, he ended up winning the whole thing. Draper, who was named Murray's successor this summer, isn't so much carrying the torch as carrying it forward.

From “made of glass” to almost the last survivor.

(Top photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)