Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a return to Britain's Jack Draper during their men's semifinals match on ... [+]
One player fell on the court and dealt with a left wrist issue and the other threw up several times on the court and battled a stomach issue.
Both simultaneously were visited by trainers during the second set.
In the end, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner overcame the wrist injury to defeat No. 25 Jack Draper of Great Britain, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2, to reach his first U.S. Open final. In Sunday’s final (2 p.m., ABC), Sinner will meet No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who outlasted No. 20 Frances Tiafoe in the all-American semifinal Friday night.
“Yeah I’m just happy to be in the final here,” Sinner told James Blake on court. “Whoever it is, it’s gonna be a very tough challenge for me but I’m just looking forward to it. The season I’m going through is very, very positive.
“We’ll just try to keep pushing and then we’ll see what I can do Sunday.”
Sinner, the 23-year-old Italian, is bidding for the second major title of his career after beating Daniil Medvedev for the Australian Open crown in January. He is the first man born after 1988 to reach the semis of all four majors.
Sinner remains the betting favorite to win the title and won’t have to face either No. 2 Novak Djokovic or No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the final after both were upset earlier in the tournament.
The match took a dramatic turn in the second set when Draper, the 22-year-old left-hander, threw up several times on the court while seemingly battling a stomach issue amidst the New York humidity. He used a courtside towel to wipe it up, but the chair umpire at one point said to him, “Jack, we clean up properly.” Still, no ball boys or tournament officials did so.
“I think it was obviously a very physical match,” Draper said. “Obviously that's why Jannik is No. 1 player in the world, because when you play the top players, the intensity is different. You know, it's a step up.
“I think obviously it's a big occasion for me. I definitely felt, 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. I think 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.”
Asked if throwing up made him feel better, Draper added: “No, you don't feel better. You just feel worse and worse, because you can't put anything in your body. You know, like, when you're playing long matches, you need to be able to drink and to eat things and, you know, to give your body the supplies it needs to keep on going.
“But obviously when you're feeling sick and stuff like that, you can't put anything inside your body, because it just comes straight out, and it's the worst feeling ever. You can't move around the court when that happens.
“So no, it's a horrible feeling, and you feel more dizzy and more sick the more you are.”
With Draper serving at 4-all, 40-15 in the second, Sinner tumbled to the court while chasing a Draper overhead and injured his left wrist. But in the point of the match, he scrambled to his feet and hit an incredible forehand pass as the crowd roared.
Sinner ended up serving out the second set in the tiebreak with a 115-mph service winner.
In the third set, Draper was broken for 2-4 and called for a Coca-Cola to help settle his stomach.
“He looks like a zombie out here,” ESPN’s James Blake said on air.
Draper finished with eight aces and 10 double-faults, while Sinner blasted 11 aces against one double-fault.
Still, Draper, playing in his first major semifinal, acquitted himself well but battling stomach issues as well as the superior firepower of the world No. 1.
“It’s hard to imagine not seeing him in the Top 10 in the near future,” John McEnroe said on ESPN.
“He’s shown some skills at net, there’s a lot to like about him. He’s shown some character out there, too.”
Britain's Jack Draper hits a return to Italy's Jannik Sinner during their men's semifinals match on ... [+]
Sinner and Draper have been friends since the juniors, and played doubles together last month at the Canadian Open. Draper cited Sinner as a source of inspiration for his career.
“Jannik is a good friend, someone I'm definitely close to,” he said ahead of the match.
Sinner has seemingly moved past the pre-tournament controversy in which the world No. 1 tested positive for a banned substance but avoided punishment.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared Sinner after he failed two drug tests in March, but he has always maintained his innocence, saying the amount of clostebol found in his system was less than a billionth of a gram.
Sinner parted ways with his physio and fitness coach before the Open, and has maintained a tight circle in the wake of the doping allegations and those close to him say he has learned who his friends are — and who they aren’t.
Now he can silence any doubters with a second Slam in 2024.
Asked for a weakness in Sinner’s game, Draper thought for a while and said, “He doesn't have many, Mate. One. Don't know. Maybe he's too nice.”
