Tennis-Britain's Draper resolute despite queasy US Open exit
By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) -Jack Draper never considered retiring in his straight-sets semi-final defeat to top seed Jannik Sinner on Friday, the Briton said, after a gruelling match that saw him vomit three times.
The 25th seed had not dropped a set in New York before Friday but his dream run to a first major semi-final quickly turned into a nightmare as heat, humidity and nerves saw him queasy by the second set.
The 22-year-old said it only got worse from there, as he became dizzy because he was unable to take in much fluid. He lost 7-5 7-6(3) 6-2.
"I'm not going to retire in the semis of a Grand Slam. I know the last set, you know, it probably looked liked from courtside or on TV that it was, you know, not a great look," he said.
"I was fighting hard. You know, I'm proud of myself. I tried to fight as hard as I can. Just not going to get it done against someone like that."
There were plenty of positives for Draper to take from his tenth major main draw, as he became the first British man to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals since Andy Murray won the tournament 12 years ago.
Draper was ranked 123rd when he made an inspired run to the fourth round last year despite an injury-plagued season, and he believes he will get results with more experience.
"I just need to keep on learning, keep on growing, keep on having situations like today where I came unstuck," he said.
"It's experiences, doing all the right things, it's training consistently, and over time you just progress and you get stronger and you get better."
Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
