How does Draper beat world number one Sinner?
Britain’s Jack Draper has produced the standout run of his career to reach the US Open semi-finals – but world number one Jannik Sinner stands in his path to Sunday’s final.
Britain’s Jack Draper has produced the standout run of his career to reach the US Open semi-finals – but world number one Jannik Sinner stands in his path to Sunday’s final.
Home hope Jessica Pegula will face title favourite Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s US Open final after an electric night in New York.
Taylor Fritz broke new ground on Tuesday when he defeated Alexander Zverev for the second consecutive major to reach the semi-finals of the US Open. The American had made four previous Grand Slam quarter-finals, but never advanced to the last four. That changed with a splendid performance against the two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion.
But according to Wolfgang Oswald, Fritz’s longtime physiotherapist, the 26-year-old is not satisfied just to move one step further.
“Before, maybe there was a sense of relief. ‘I made the second week, I made a quarter-final’,” Oswald said. “He actually said it in a car the other day. He was like, ‘I’m not celebrating, because it’s not over. I’m not happy’.”
Fritz is fully focused on continuing his biggest run yet and trying to become the first American man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick 21 years ago at Flushing Meadows.
ATPTour.com spoke to Oswald, who knows Fritz as well as anyone, to gain insight into the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals competitor’s growth and mindset. The Australian first noticed Fritz when he played Tommy Paul in the 2015 Roland Garros boys’ singles final, won by Paul. He then continued to follow the American as he progressed to the ATP Challenger Tour, including a final-set tie-break Fritz played against Dustin Brown.
At the time, Oswald was a tennis fan working out of Arizona. He got into tennis because Brett Waltz, the current physiotherapist for Frances Tiafoe, Fritz’s US Open semi-final opponent, thought it would be good to get a physio with a tennis background like Oswald on Tour.
One day, the Aussie received a call asking if he could be in Chengdu by Wednesday. Despite a fully booked schedule, Oswald manouevred things around and made the trip to work with Fritz later that week.
“I’d never met Taylor. I’d never met David Nainkin, his coach [at the time]… I rocked up at breakfast, and I met Taylor, and we went straight to the tournament, and he was in qualifying, and he qualified. He made the quarter-finals and that’s how it started,” Oswald said. “I’d never even talked to him on the phone. I just rocked up in Chengdu, China. It was supposed to be a three-week trip.”
It turned into a five-week trip as Fritz was pushing to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. Oswald even competed in an ATP Challenger Tour event in Vietnam during the trip.
“Taylor’s pretty reserved if he doesn’t know you. So I remember he was on his phone. He said, ‘Hi’. I talked with his coach quite a bit in the car ride over, because his coach and I had a lot of mutual friends. The tennis world is very small,” Oswald said. “There wasn’t a lot of communication, I would say, because Taylor’s pretty reserved and pretty quiet. But I remember he had his routine, I had a routine and we grew together.”
After a whirlwind start to the trip due to how quickly it came about, the player-physio duo familiarised themselves with each other better at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Ningbo, where Oswald needed to take on a few more roles for the week. They naturally spent more time together.
“We went out to the malls and did some shopping, went out to dinner,” Oswald said. “And then we started communicating a lot more, and then we gelled pretty good.”
It did not take long for Oswald to learn about Fritz’s competitive spirit.
“Pretty much the first match I was with him, qualifying in Chengdu, which is me not knowing him that way, because I didn’t get that from watching him on TV, necessarily,” Oswald said. “[I saw] how laid back he is, and then flip the switch and fight tooth and nail to the end and [how he] tries to figure out how to win… Pretty much right from the get-go, you can see he was a competitor.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/04/20/08/fritz-us-open-2024-russell-reaction.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Taylor Fritz” />
Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
According to the physiotherapist, Fritz’s competitive nature came out in many settings, including the arcades and batting cages in Tokyo their second week together. It was not just on the tennis court.
“Video games, ultra competitive. We’re playing cards, ultra competitive. Chess, ultra competitive. Any type of social game, ultra competitive,” Oswald said. “If we’re doing drills on the court, [even] if there’s nothing riding on it. ‘Hey you’ve got to do assault bike sprints or push ups’, then he’ll be ultra competitive. So he’s very competitive at almost anything that he does.
“I’ve seen him get pretty heated early on. Actually, he was really into FIFA. Now he plays other games, but he was video gaming FIFA, and I remember he beat a professional FIFA player that we thought was professional based on his user name. I remember he was ultra competitive, maybe even breaking a couple of controllers on his video game console, because he was that competitive, truly heated when he would lose.”
But Fritz is not constantly in that mode. In fact, he is more reserved than many of his colleagues off the court.
“He’s quiet and reserved and he’s very mellow other than [when he is on] the court. His heart rate doesn’t even go up one beat per minute if we’re late for a flight. He is so cool, calm and collected,” Oswald said. “And then in a match, if you watch him play, he fights tooth and nail to the end. But I think being calm most of the time helps the mental energy when you have to turn it on. You can turn it on. If you’re always amped up, and then have to amp up more for a match, sometimes that can be very mentally fatiguing.”
[ATP APP]That mentality has helped Fritz climb as high as No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings and check off various stepping stones in his journey. The World No. 12 has won at least one title at the ATP 250s, ATP 500s and the ATP Masters 1000s.
“Having been quarters of Slams and being close to a semi several times in five sets, this is the next stepping stone. Now he’s been in that situation, he knows how to handle it,” Oswald said. “One of the themes the last couple of days has not been, ‘Hey, we’re happy we’re in the semis, let’s celebrate’. The job’s not done, let’s go for the whole thing.”
Oswald has watched his charge grow in several ways over the past seven years, from physical improvements to maturity and more. And now, Fritz has used that to move to within a match of becoming the first male American singles finalist at a major since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009. Only longtime friend Tiafoe stands in his way.
“Frances and him have pushed each other. His training volume went up when Frances hit 30 something in the world the first time, and then Fritz overtook him, and then Frances got better,” Oswald said. “They’ve continually pushed each other. Even though they’re good buddies, neither one wants to lose the other guy, I can tell you that.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson charged into their second consecutive Grand Slam doubles final after edging Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-4, 7-6(4) in the US Open semi-finals Thursday night.
The Australians will now get a shot at redemption after squandering three championship points in the Wimbledon final in July. In Saturday’s final they will play the winner of tonight’s second semi-final between Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic and Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.
[ATP APP]In a match of fine margins, two missed forehand volleys by Lammons and Withrow and a bold second-serve ace on match point by Purcell is what separated the teams in the tense tie-break.
“What makes it so special is that we’re such good mates. Every time we get a win I just feel overloaded with happiness,” Purcell said. “It’s not just the achievement, it’s who you do it with. We made it a goal this year to win a Grand Slam, so to be one match away again is special.”
“Back-to-back finals is incredible,” said Thompson, who reached the fourth round of the singles at Flushing Meadows. “This is my first full year of doubles and to go from the Wimbledon final to the US Open final… hopefully we can go one better here.”
Purcell and Thompson improved to 36-6 on the year. Purcell is chasing his second major doubles title after partnering Matthew Ebden to the 2022 Wimbledon title. Thompson is seeking his maiden Grand Slam crown.
Purcell and Thompson have risen to fifth place in the PIF ATP Doubles Teams Rankings and will go to third with a title. Lammons and Withrow are also in the running to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals after climbing to eighth in the Race by reaching their first Grand Slam semi-final.
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Briton Jack Draper has stepped into the sun at the US Open, advancing to his maiden major semi-final in the first Grand Slam tournament since former World No. 1 Andy Murray’s retirement. But Draper is not the only Briton making his mark in New York.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Robertson is into the semi-finals of the boys’ singles event and two victories from becoming the first British boys’ singles champion at Flushing Meadows since Oliver Golding in 2011.
“It’s obviously more impressive from Jack getting to the semi-finals of the men’s,” Robertson told ATPTour.com. “But I’m so happy for him. I also hit with him at Queen’s and he looked like he’s been working so hard and he’s a really nice guy, also. It’s just cool to see another Brit that’s doing so well.
“I think it’s just great for everyone in British tennis. For me when people are doing well, you go like, ‘I want to get to what he’s like as well’. It’s going to be massive for British tennis in a positive way.”
[ATP APP]Robertson grew up on a farm in the north of Scotland. His older sister, Kirsty (23), and older brother, Harry (21), were in a tennis class. Charlie was too young to participate, but from the age of four he would hit against the wall. His efforts were impressive enough to be placed in the class despite his age and he immediately loved it. But the Scot also enjoyed time at home.
“Out of my brother and my sister, I was actually into the farm and the animals,” Robertson said. “I used to look after the sheep, that’s what I got. I honestly loved it. I think my dad thought I was going to be a farmer, but I just enjoyed sports too much and tennis I loved, so I decided to go for that.”
As Robertson improved, it was clear he had to move to the GB National Tennis Academy at the University of Stirling for the best training.
“We had to sell our farm to afford somewhere to stay in Stirling, a home,” Robertson said. “From there I kept playing and it was great.”
The No. 23 player in the ITF Junior Rankings, Robertson is already one of the best juniors in the world. Unsurprisingly, Murray, who was already a Top 20 player in the PIF ATP Rankings when Robertson was born, was his role model.
“Seeing him, a Scotsman do it is so special for me obviously. Being from Scotland, it’s unbelievable seeing a Scottish guy doing so well. So for me, it was always Andy,” Robertson said. “Andy’s always been my inspiration since I was little and to know that someone can do it from where you’ve trained and where he’s trained and grown up, it’s a massive inspiration.”
They have grown closer this year. Andy’s older brother, Jamie Murray, is the tournament director at the cinch Championships and invited Robertson to serve as a hitting partner.
“It was quite special. Me and Andy built our relationship there, so that was very special and I also got the time to hit with Alcaraz, which I thought was really nice,” Robertson said. “It was only once, but he actually requested me again to hit with him, which was quite cool, but I actually had to go play a tournament myself!”
Charlie Robertson : the Scottish teenager following in Andy’s footsteps, heads to New York for the US Open junior event next month. He’s ranked 25 in the world and has just spent a week as Andy’s training partner.
Investing in the next generation. ❤️🏴 pic.twitter.com/Xd6epWYQFi— judy murray (@JudyMurray) July 23, 2024
Murray even had Robertson as a training partner ahead of the Olympics, the final tournament of his career. Andy’s mother, Judy Murray, wrote: “It’s 20 years since Andy won the US Open junior event in 2004 and it’s great to see him investing in the next generation. No better and quicker way to learn than working alongside someone who has been there and done it.”
”I can’t thank the Murray family enough. They’ve given me so much support and I can’t thank them enough for backing me and backing a Scot. It’s really special,” Robertson said. “For what he’s already done for tennis and how he’s giving back also now that it’s done, it’s amazing for me.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori capped a dream run to the mixed doubles title Thursday at the US Open, where the third seeds overcame home hopes Taylor Townsend and Donald Young 7-6(0), 7-5 in the championship match.
Errani and Vavassori held their nerve in pressure moments, including a trade of breaks at the tail end of the opening set that forced a tie-break, during which they did not drop a point. When Townsend and Young served to stay in the match at 5-6 in the second set, Errani and Vavassori jumped to 0/40 lead and converted their third match point.
The 35-year-old Young, who reached a career-high No. 38 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2012, was competing in his final professional tournament.
[ATP APP]Errani and Vavassori survived a difficult path en route to becoming the third Italian duo to win a major title in mixed doubles and first since 1986. They began the tournament by fending off a match point against Robert Galloway and Shelby Rogers. In the quarter-finals, Errani and Vavassori downed Hsieh Su-Wei and Jan Zielinski, who were chasing their third major mixed doubles title of the year (Australian Open, Wimbledon).
“It’s very special. It’s a dream come true for me,” Vavassori said. “Being with Sara, an amazing person, an amazing player. I always watch her during her career. It was amazing to play with her at Wimbledon and the Olympics this year… We did it. We won a Grand Slam! It’s amazing.”
Vavassori, No. 9 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, partnered Simone Bolelli to reach the Australian Open and Roland Garros final this season. The Flushing Meadows mixed doubles title marks his first major crown.
Errani last month teamed Jasmine Paolini to claim the Paris Olympics gold medal in women’s doubles. A five-time major champion in women’s doubles, Errani was competing in her first mixed doubles major final.
“This is so special for me. I’ve never played mixed and to share this moment with Andrea is so special,” Errani said. “I’m so happy. This is incredible for me. This year, it’s amazing.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller looks at the team and the sacrifices behind “absolute tennis keeno” Jack Draper’s run to the US Open semi-finals.
From hothead to cool customer – how Jack Draper’s increasing maturity has led to a composed run to the US Open semi-finals.
Top seed Jannik Sinner and 25th seed Jack Draper will meet in the first US Open semi-final on Friday afternoon before 12th seed Taylor Fritz faces 20th seed Frances Tiafoe in an all-American evening battle.
Sinner, who defeated 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday evening to make the last four, will try to reach his second major final of the season not before 3 p.m. EDT/9 p.m. CEST. Also a semi-finalist at Roland Garros and a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, he won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
[ATP APP]It will be the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings’ second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting against Draper, a first-rime major semi-finalist. The Briton defeated Sinner three years ago at The Queen’s Club in two tie-breaks for his first ATP Tour main-draw win.
Fritz or Tiafoe, who will play not before 7 p.m. EDT/1 a.m. CEST will become the first American man to reach a Slam final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009. This will be the first all-American men’s singles semi-final at a Grand Slam tournament since Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri at the 2005 US Open.
Fritz leads Tiafoe 6-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Their most recent meeting came last year in Acapulco (Fritz won 6-3, 6-4) and they have met in a major just once, at the 2022 Australian Open (Fritz won 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5).
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[NEWSLETTER FORM]No American has reached the men’s singles final at the US Open since 2006. On Friday, Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe will end that drought in New York.
The two players will step out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium in front of their home fans for an intriguing semi-final clash at the hard-court major. As well as a matchup between Fritz’s serve-dominated game and Tiafoe’s ability to redirect an opponent’s power to his advantage, it will also be a duel between two close friends that have played a major role in the resurgence of American men’s tennis in recent years.
“Taylor and I had a conversation about being No. 1, No. 2 Americans for a very long time,” said Tiafoe ahead of the first all-American Grand Slam semi-final since Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri in 2005. “I remember we were sitting on a plane some years ago, and he’s a pretty to-himself kind of dude, and he’s, like, ‘Bro, I think me and you are going to be one, two Americans and leading the way.”
Competing at the US Open as the leading American in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fritz has expertly handled the pressure so far this fortnight as he bids to become the first home men’s singles champion since Andy Roddick in 2003. The 26-year-old has dropped just two sets across his five matches so far, eliminating Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev in the process.
After losing his first four major quarter-finals, the way Fritz held his nerve to overcome Zverev in four sets to reach his maiden semi-final was particularly impressive. However, the eight-time ATP Tour champion has no intention of resting on his laurels.
“The emotional level is down,” said Fritz. “It’s cool I’m in the semis, but I very much have the mindset of ‘The job’s not done’, and I keep taking it one match at a time like I’ve been all tournament and focus on the next match ahead of me.”
Semi Final No.1⃣ @usopen 🎾@Taylor_Fritz97 🆚 @FTiafoe
Check out Fritz’s #Insights card from the past 52 weeks on the @atptour 👇
How will Tiafoe match up against him in this all-American showdown❓#TennisInsights | @atptour pic.twitter.com/o7bhkVICeL
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) September 5, 2024
Fritz enters the clash with history on his side. The 12th seed holds a 6-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Tiafoe, a tally which includes victory in the pair’s only Grand Slam meeting at the 2022 Australian Open. Yet Tiafoe, who reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati earlier this month, believes past encounters will have little bearing on Friday’s clash in New York.
“It’s different on Ashe, man,” said Tiafoe, who also reached the US Open semi-finals in 2022. “It’s different. Obviously you have to learn from those [defeats]. I mean, couple of those I thought I actually should have won. He’s tough, man. He’s a tough player. He plays great from both sides, has a great serve, he’s moving much better now. It’s going to be tough.”
As well as becoming the first American men’s singles finalist since Roddick in 2006, whoever triumphs in Friday’s semi-final will also significantly boost their hopes of reaching the Nitto ATP Finals. Currently seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, Fritz would rise to fourth by reaching the championship match. Tiafoe, who has never qualified for the prestigious season finale, will rise from 14th to 10th in the Live Race if he can defeat Fritz.
[ATP APP] Sinner Eyes Revenge Against Red-hot Draper
After years beset with injury struggles, has Jack Draper’s big-stage moment finally arrived?
The Briton has stormed to his maiden major semi-final without dropping a set this fortnight at the US Open, where World No. 1 Jannik Sinner stands in his way in the last four. For the 22-year-old Draper, a junior rival and friend of Sinner’s, his breakout major run in New York has come as a reward for years of perseverance.
“I’ve had times when I’ve maybe thought to stop or, ‘Am I cut out for this sport? Am I really good enough?’ And all this sort of stuff,” reflected Draper, who won his maiden ATP Tour title in June in Stuttgart, after easing past Alex de Minaur in straight sets in the quarter-finals. “I kept on believing in myself, kept on working.
“Those are hard moments. This is not a hard moment compared to that. This is a privilege, and this is an honour to be in this position. This is why I work so hard, so I’ve got to just keep it going in my stride. I’m not afraid of being in these positions.”
Yet to drop a set. ❄️@jackdraper0 downs de Minaur 6-3 7-5 6-2 to advance into the #USOpen semi-finals!@usopen pic.twitter.com/02J7v9bMKG
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 4, 2024
So can Draper maintain his impressive form to upset the World No. 1 and become the first British men’s singles US Open finalist since Andy Murray lifted the trophy in 2012? The lefty, who has already guaranteed he will crack the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings next Monday with his New York run, triumphed in his only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Sinner at the Queen’s Club in 2021.
Even prior to that meeting on the London grass, Sinner was familiar with Draper’s game. The Italian recalls seeing the Briton compete as a junior, and he knows he may have to adapt to the unique challenge that his opponent’s big-serving, heavy-hitting lefty game poses.
“I don’t remember playing against him… But I do remember seeing him from outside,” said Sinner of Draper after defeating Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals. “Obviously lefty, it’s also tough to see, as there are fewer lefties than righties. You know, his ball striking was always very, very good.
“It’s going to be a tough match. He hasn’t lost one set yet. He’s playing great. He’s serving great. I saw also the match today, he’s hitting very, very strong. So it’s going to be tough match but I’m looking forward to it and hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”
By beating Medvedev in New York, Sinner completed the set of reaching the semi-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments. The Australian Open champion clearly holds the advantage over his last-four opponent Draper in terms of experience at the tail end of Grand Slams, but he will be wary of the Briton’s weapons in what will be one of the most high-powered matchups of the Grand Slam season.
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