NEW YORK (AP) — There they both sat in the second set of their U.S. Open semifinal on a humid afternoon Friday, simultaneously receiving treatment from trainers: Jannik Sinner got his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win; Jack Draper needed medical attention after vomiting twice.
The top-ranked Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, who was exonerated in a doping case less than a week before play began in New York, was the better player throughout and finished off a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over Draper to reach his first title match at Flushing Meadows — and second at a Grand Slam tournament his year.
“It was a very physical match, as we see,” said Sinner, who is a righty but uses both fists for his backhands and kept flexing his left wrist after it got hurt. “I just tried to stay there mentally.”
While both competitors were being looked at during a changeover, a vacuum was being used to clean up the green ground behind the baseline where the 25th-seeded Draper, a 22-year-old from Britain, had thrown up, finishing the cleaning job he tried to do himself by wiping the court with a towel. It hearkened back to when Pete Sampras lost his lunch during a win over Alex Corretja during the 1996 U.S. Open — and created, to say the least, an unusual scene Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the temperature was in the high 70s and the humidity was above 60%.
Sinner won the Australian Open in January and will seek his second major championship on Sunday against No. 12 Taylor Fritz or No. 20 Frances Tiafoe.
“Whoever it is,” Sinner said, “it’s going to be a very tough challenge for me. But I’m just looking forward to it.”
Word emerged last month that Sinner failed two drug tests eight days apart in March but was cleared because he said the trace amounts of an anabolic steroid entered his system unintentionally via a massage from a team member he since has fired. That whole episode has been a constant topic of conversation as he progressed through the U.S. Open bracket.
Good pals Fritz and Tiafoe were scheduled to play each other Friday night in the other men’s semifinal, the first in New York between two Americans in 19 years. One would become the first U.S. man in a Slam title match since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009 — and if either were to defeat Sinner, it would give the United States its first major trophy for a man since Roddick triumphed in New York in 2003.
The women’s final on Saturday also will feature an American, with No. 6 Jessica Pegula taking on No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
The longer that points lasted between Sinner and Draper — who are friends and played doubles together at an event in August — the more things went the Italian’s way as the contest stretched past three hours.
He is as pure a ball-striker as there is in the men’s game at the moment, and while Draper’s lefty power and good hands — whether following his serves to the net or simply finding other times to hit volleys, he won 22 of the 34 points when he moved forward — made some inroads, Sinner got better and better the longer exchanges went.
Sinner took the point on 50 of 80 that lasted nine or more strokes.
“Jannik plays at such a high level,” Draper said, “all the time.”
Draper has plenty of talent, and he hadn’t dropped a set over the past two weeks until Friday, but his biggest issue as a pro has been his body, and it was again on this day. The weather surely didn’t help. Nor did any tension associated with making his debut in a Slam semifinal. Nor did Sinner’s relentlessness.
The collection of empty water bottles kept growing by Draper’s sideline seat as he tried to hydrate. He also requested a can of soda in the third set. By the time it arrived, nothing was going to help him slow Sinner, who improved to 34-2 on hard courts in 2024.
“It’s a big occasion for me. Even though I generally feel pretty relaxed and stuff, I definitely felt more excited today, a few more nerves around. I’m definitely someone who is, I think, quite an anxious human being,” Draper said. “When you add all that together, sometimes I do feel a bit nausea on court, and I do feel a little bit sick when it gets tough.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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