Jack Draper has New York in the palm of his hand. He has Anna Wintour in his box and a place in his first Grand Slam quarter-final, where he plays Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Wednesday.
He has come a long way in a relatively short time, from feeling so suffocated by the grind of the tour, so far from fulfilling his dreams, that he considered quitting.
‘I was almost sold a dream, you know? I thought it was going to be easy,’ the 22-year-old reflected of his early years on tour.
‘It’s not the strawberries and cream of Wimbledon that I expected.’
It is hamburger and fries rather than strawberries and cream, but that dream is now three wins from reality.
Brit No 1 Jack Draper has progressed through the first four rounds without losing a single set
Taking in the city on days off, the 22-year-old appears to have New York in the palm of his hand
Fellow Brit-in-New York – and editor of US Vogue – Anna Wintour watched her compatrior cruise through to his first Grand Slam quarter final
Draper has been a serious talent since childhood, a top-ranked national junior through all age groups. But, largely due to injury, his first four-and-a-half years were spent on the treadmill of lower-tier events.
When Emma Raducanu won the title here three years ago, Draper was No 272 in the world and had just lost in the second round of the Seville Challenger, retiring with yet another injury.
Around that time, sequestered in a succession of charmless hotels, Draper considered retirement of a more permanent nature.
‘You have all these big dreams of winning Wimbledon and then you come out of the juniors and you’re into the grind, you have to go to all these hard places to play tennis and beat men,’ he said.
‘It got to Covid and lockdown and it was really tough for players to break through. I had a real reflection. I genuinely thought maybe I wasn’t cut out for tennis.
‘I came back and worked hard and then had another moment in 2022 where I thought, with all my injuries, whether, again, I was good enough to sustain being the top player I wanted to be. I didn’t want to ever play tennis to not be a top player.
‘My mindset at the middle of last year really shifted. I wanted to be as professional as possible, to achieve as much as possible.
Draper is now potentially just three more wins away from becoming a Grand Slam champion
Draper pictured celebrating after beating Czech player Tomas Machac in his previous match
‘I thought it was going to be easy but the reality was incredibly difficult. That was hard to get my head round.
‘But in the last year or so, I’m beginning to believe more and more in my capabilities, in the possibility that one day those dreams can come true.’
‘One day’ could be four days’ time in the US Open final. Draper’s next match will be easily his hardest thus far. Tenth seed De Minaur was a doubt for the US Open after picking up a hip injury at Wimbledon but he, like Draper, has had a kind draw and said: ‘Every day I felt better and better. Hopefully I’m peaking for the right moment.’
The 25-year-old ended Dan Evans’ brave run in an Ashes battle and now comes the second Test.
As Katie Boulter’s boyfriend, De Minaur is at times an honorary Pom, but not this week. ‘I’ve played plenty of Brits,’ he said. ‘It’s never easy. I feel a little bit of a hostile in the country at the moment.’
De Minaur leads the head-to-head 3-0, but the same was true of Tomas Machac in Draper’s last round.
Given the Brit’s recent strides, past results are of little relevance.
Draper’s coach of three years, James Trotman, said: ‘If you look at Jack, really this is his first full year on the main tour.
‘To be in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam is an incredible achievement so let’s try to keep it rolling. He looks very calm and settled in himself, the calmest I have seen him in a Grand Slam.’
Draper looks confident in his game and comfortable in his own skin, happy to discuss anything.
Given the courtside presence of Vogue editor-in-chief Wintour for his win over Machac, having met her a few days before and extending an invite, Draper was invited to give his views on fashion.
As his star rises, Draper has become an increasingly familiar face in fashion editorials
‘I don’t know anything about the fashion world,’ he said. ‘But I’ve always been strong in my belief that everyone’s open to dress how they want to, whether that’s baggy clothes, skinny clothes or something crazy with their hair.
‘Just express your personality and own it.’
That last sentence could be written in neon in Times Square, so perfectly does it describe New Yorkers.
Draper is forming a connection with this vibrant, eclectic city and this tournament is like no other — get on a roll, tap into the energy of the crowd and they can drag you along like a tidal wave.
Jack Draper is on a roll. He will take some stopping.
