Jack Draper's mum has change of heart for US Open semi-final

Jack Draper's mum, Nicky, has made a last-minute U-turn and flown out to New York to watch her son's US Open semi-final contest.

Her 22-year-old son will face world number one Jannik Sinner on Friday 6 September for a place in the final.

3 Draper will have the support of his mother - a former tennis player herself Credit: Getty

Speaking earlier in the week, she had previously admitted that her viewing plans for the semi-final were to remain at home in Surrey.

She explained that not only is her semi-finalist son out in America, but his brother Ben (who is also Jack's agent) is also out at the US Open.

“It’s in the back of my mind," she said when asked if she was flying out to New York. "But I’ve been watching every match with my dad, with my dog, swearing and cursing, jumping up and down, clapping, having a glass of wine at the same time.

"I’ve got both of my boys out there, I think they’re doing fine without me. So probably not.”

However, it seems she then had a change of heart and consequently caught a flight stateside on Thursday evening.

“I’ve got a flight booked this evening,” she had revealed earlier in the day. “I only decided this morning to go.”

It means that Draper will be able to count her among the audience when he steps out on court to face the reigning Australian Open champion Sinner.

It will be a tough match for the Brit, with the Italian desperate to add a second Grand Slam title to his collection.

But Draper may well be able to take courage from the fact that in the pair's only previously senior tour meeting, it was he who prevailed over Sinner at Queens Club in 2021.

Moreover, he should be relatively familiar with his opponent's style of play given hat the two played doubles together in a tournament in Montreal not long ago.

3 Draper has played an aggressive and effective style of tennis so far Credit: Getty

3 But world number one Sinner will be the toughest test so far Credit: GETTY

“I think they’re quite good friends actually," Draper's mum said.

“They’ve played some doubles and they’ve shared the odd dinner together.

"I think Jannik has made Jack some pasta and taught him how to cook pasta. They’re young boys, aren’t they?”

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As well as support, Draper's mother may well actually be able to offer some valuable advice when it comes to his play.

After all, it was she who introduced Draper to tennis as a youngster, having been a British junior champion herself.

She has also previously opened up about her son's career as a professional.

Draper earlier revealed that he had doubted himself at various points during his career, wondering if he was suited to the sport.

"I genuinely thought that maybe I wasn’t cut out for tennis," he remembered.

"But I had good people around me. I came back, I worked hard and then had another little moment in 2022 where I thought, with all my injuries that I was having and the hard times I was going through, I was not going to be good enough to sustain being the top player I wanted to be."

But his mother said that despite the difficulties. she was confident he had always been destined to stick with it.

“I don’t think he seriously thought about giving up," she said.

“Tennis is a brutal sport, you’ve got to train day in day out, you can’t go on holiday and take a break for a few days even, you’ve got to be working on your speed, your agility, your flexibility, your endurance, the mental side. It just never stops.”

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