Jack Draper's relationship with Emma Raducanu as he's compelled to speak out

Jack Draper is one match away from the US Open final after becoming the first British man to reach the last four of the competition in 12 years.

The 22-year-old has had a terrific tournament in New York and is still yet to drop a set after powering his way into the semi-finals by beating Australian 10th seed Alex de Minaur in the quarters. He now faces his biggest challenge yet as he takes on world number one Jannik Sinner on Friday for a place in the final.

Up against the top seed, Draper - who had previously never advanced further than the second round of a Grand Slam tournament - will look for inspiration from those who have gone before him. The last British man to reach the semi-final stage at Flushing Meadows was Andy Murray back in 2012, with the Scot going on to win the title that year.

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Of course, the biggest British success story at the US Open in recent times came courtesy of Emma Raducanu, who became an overnight star when she stunned the tennis world to win the 2021 tournament, having come through qualifying as a teenage unknown.

Born less than a year apart, Draper and Raducanu have been good friends for a long time and the current men's world No.25 has admitted he is keen to emulate her success in New York. After beating de Minaur, he said watching his friend triumph had "fuelled my fire" as he praised her accomplishments.

"What Emma did was obviously incredibly inspiring," he told reporters. "I’ve known her from a young age, and to see what she did was incredible.

“I was very proud of her, very excited. Obviously, we’ve watched the likes of Andy Murray winning a Grand Slam from Great Britain, but her winning, it was just really a fairy-tale run.

“I definitely think as a competitor, it fuelled my fire. I really wanted to achieve what she’d done, winning a Grand Slam. At the same time I do understand that the men’s and the women’s, it is different. We’re playing five sets. It’s a different physical challenge and all these types of things. [But] I learned a lot from watching Emma win, that run, and how amazing she was.”

Draper has also defended Raducanu after the 21-year-old came under fire from tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who singled the British star out for criticism and questioned her work ethic after she was beaten in the first round at this year's US Open.

Navratilova claimed that Raducanu "needs more matchplay," adding: "I still don’t think she is as fit as she should be." In response, Draper argued that his friend had been the subject of unfair expectation since her fairytale run to a Grand Slam title at the age of 18.

"I think it’s important that people give her time to be on her journey and to improve physically and to put years of working to get back to that point," he said.

"There’s no doubt it was extremely difficult for Emma, because she’d done her A Levels and she’d just come out of school. All of a sudden she came here and she had a dream run and won. I think the expectation on her after that was huge."

Raducanu and Draper's close friendship has previously led to speculation that the pair may be dating, but those suggestions are wide of the mark. It's not the first sports star that Raducanu has been linked with, however, with the tennis ace also being the subject of rumours linking her to Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and David Beckham's son Romeo.

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