From being watched by Anna Wintour to mopping up your own vomit in front of 24,000 people, there is no sport like tennis for raising a man high then laying him low.
The greatest fortnight in Jack Draper’s career was ended in the semi-final of the US Open as a combination of humidity, anxiety and the brutal physicality of facing world No1 Jannik Sinner left him nauseous.
First Draper could barely grip the racket, so profusely was he sweating, and that led to 10 double faults. Then in the second set he vomited three times as his condition deteriorated.
It was the most bizarre and unfortunate end to his tournament but the fact he kept the score as tight as 7-5, 7-6, 6-2 does great credit to the 22-year-old’s bloody-minded determination.
This was a physical and mental effort of which Andy Murray would have been proud and, even in defeat, Draper showed that the recently-retired Scot leaves British men’s tennis in safe hands.
Jack Draper’s US Open dream is over after crashing out in the semi-final on Friday night
The British ace was beaten in straight sets as he struggled against the World No.1
Jannik Sinner produced a stunning performance in front of a fascinated American crowd
Interviewed just before coming out on court, the No25 seed dispensed with the customary guarded phrases and declared: ‘I’ve been wanting this moment for a long time, I’m going to take it all in my stride. I’m up against the best player on the planet so going to have to play some incredible tennis and compete like an animal.’
He certainly played some incredible tennis at times, mostly in saving seven out of 11 break points, and he sure did compete like an animal. Take it in his stride? Not quite. In Eminem’s seminal Lose Yourself, about a nervous rapper about to go on stage, he sings: ‘Palms are sweaty, there’s vomit on his sweater already,’ and Draper showed both symptoms.
The initial problem was the sweat. He double faulted in the opening game and hit six in the first set. After each double he looked disgustedly at his left palm as if the racket were slipping in his hand, and in the next changeover sent off a couple to be regripped. At 5-5 came three double faults, as Sinner broke and closed out the set.
In general play Draper was competing well, using his leftie tricks to drag Sinner out wide, pummelling forehands and striking a fine balance between attack and defence.
To us in the crowd, who had no idea how bad he was feeling at this stage, the match felt far from over.
At 2-2 in the second set he double faulted and gave a frustrated gesture to his box. ‘Change the racket if its slipping,’ said his coach James Trottman. Draper ignored him and promptly double faulted again.
The perspiration was running off him in rivulets, puddling in abstract shapes on the court, like a particularly outre art exhibit at New York’s MoMa: sweat on green acrylic, by Jack Draper.Â
Draper played some incredible tennis at times, mostly in saving 7 out of 11 break points
The pair of competing tennis stars are good friends away from the court and embraced at the end of the game
He moped up the court and at 3-3 his shoes had become so sweaty umpire Marijana Veljovic allowed him to switch them outside a changeover.
Sinner was the dominant force as he reached the final
In the eighth game of the set it was clear Draper’s problems were worse than we feared as he decorated the court with another bodily fluid. With Sinner serving at 3-4 Draper twice vomited, again mopping up after himself – thank god tennis has taken the towel-keeping out of the hands of the ball kids.
For ESPN viewers, there is a message imposed on to the court during the US Open. ‘The world’s healthiest sport’ it reads, which seemed a little at odds with a man chucking up all over the court.
Somehow it was in this game when Draper came closest to breaking as he pulled it back to deuce with a gorgeous drop volley. With an almost crazed expression on his face he cupped a hand to his ear, urging the crowd on.
Sinner got out of that game then had physical trouble of his own. At 4-4 the rally of the match ended with Draper hitting a beefy overhead and Sinner whipping a forehand right past him. But a couple of balls before that Sinner had slipped and threw out his left hand to break his fall, injuring his wrist in the process.
He called for the trainer in the changeover and Draper sought medical attention himself. The opportunity was also taken to treat the areas of the court where Draper had thrown up, as a couple of US Open staff – all glamour that job – scurried out with gloves and what appeared to be bicarbonate of soda.
Draper sent off court for another pair of shoes, giving a runner his locker number so he could fetch them.
Draper struggled with the heat and vomited three times throughout the course of the match
Despite the fall Sinner did not seem too hampered on his double-handed backhand but was frequently shaking out his left wrist after rallies.
Coach Trottman sensed a route to an improbable victory: ‘Keep testing his backhand,’ he shouted to Draper, stating the bleeding obvious.
Draper then threw up for a third time and was flagging badly as we entered the tiebreak, which Sinner took 7-3.
And so one of the stranger sets in US Open history concluded, a one hour, 29 minute blend of sport and avant garde theatre. That set alone was longer than 53 of the women’s matches at this event.
Draper went off court and returned carrying an armful of shirts but still looking dreadful. He should have been tucked up in bed watching Gangs of London – his current show of choice – not duking it out with the best player in the world.
What on earth must Draper’s mother Nicky have thought after jetting in at 2am on Friday morning? Her son was breezing through this tournament, she turns up and all hell breaks loose.
Draper’s eyes were wide and staring and it felt like one of the members of his team should throw down a white towel in submission.
Draper struggled as he cooled himself down courtside in a multiple of different ways
But he lurched along still clinging to his serve. He ordered a coke to try to settle his stomach but his race was run as Sinner finally went clear.
What a wretched end to the fortnight for Draper but this should not disguise what great strides he has made in New York. And he showed enough in defeat here – both in the way he duelled with Sinner and the manner in which he battled on in impossible circumstances – that we will see him on such stages again.
The puddles on the court notwithstanding, he showed he has a stomach for the fight.
