US Open: Jack Draper proved his ‘mental fortitude’ against Alex de Minaur, says Tim Henman Trending Global News

Sky Sports pundit Tim Henman says Jack Draper proved his worth by reaching the US Open semi-finals with a straight sets win over Alex de Minaur on Wednesday night.

Draper has yet to drop a set at the tournament and is the first player to go 14-0 in sets at the US Open since Emma Raducanu, who won the tournament in 2021.

The match with de Minaur tested him at times and Henman believes it showed Draper’s true potential.

“It’s absolutely fantastic. When I turn my attention back to [Tomas] In the Machac match, it was pretty straightforward. Jack played brilliantly but he never faced adversity,” Henman said. Sky Sports Tennis,

“Dealing with adversity is the hardest thing about any professional sport and [against De Minaur] There was a lot of adversity there because he could have gotten distracted by what was happening in the second set and I think that’s where Jack showed mental toughness, he showed maturity in finding a way out of it.”

He added: “I think he should be proud of a lot of different aspects. He played great tennis. Obviously he’s faced a lot of challenges physically. It will be interesting to hear how his leg is feeling.

“But mentally as well – there were a lot of opportunities to get distracted. He came out, dominated the first set and looked comfortable and then in the second set he had a lot of opportunities.

“But De Minaur is never going to go away. He is a great competitor and he gave up all of a sudden [Draper] She needs to serve to keep the score at 4-5 in the second set.

“He played some great games to hold serve, break serve and then close it out. Then he was in a very strong position for two sets.”

Henman believes de Minaur will come back. “He’s a very good competitor, he brings a lot of energy to his game. I think his movement is in the top three in the sport. But since Wimbledon, with his hip injury, it looks like he’s been struggling,” he said.

“As far as he is concerned, he is desperate to take the next step. The next step for him is the semi-finals of a Grand Slam and he has fallen short.

“But I am confident he will reach the quarter-finals and even the semi-finals again in the future.”

‘So much firepower’

Sky Sports’ Pandit Laura Robson said:

“His ability to control the game from the moment he gets the first serve changes everything. He has a lot of firepower in his game.

“A great player like De Minaur couldn’t read the forehand. He spins the ball too much. From courtside where I was, some of the forehands had a great height over the net because the topspin rate was so high. He’s still putting power on the ball.

“It gives him the opportunity to get forward and then play the fast, flat shots that he’s always looking for.

“It was just… nice.”