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Tremendous performance , Machac looked very dangerous first few games .Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
I had to switch it off after the result . Commentators were getting ridiculous , I am sure Draper could fly solo to the moon whilst beating everyone left in the tournament according to them.
To not drop a set getting to last 8 is incredible. Sometimes being fearless with no expectations and having talent can go a long way, like Emma Rad had a few years back. She can’t seem to get back to that level of freedom, she might never. Tennis is madly psychological
Draper two sets up in his Quarter Final.
Draper into the Semi’s and has still not dropped a set.
Just caught the last couple of games. Looking really strong and confident. Let's hope he can go all the way.
Didn't give Draper much hope against the no.1 seed but he's more than holding his own.
He's a set down but 5 all in the second set but Sinner seems like he may have buggered up his left wrist so plenty of drama.
Just to make everyone feel old…..Jack Draper was in my youngest son’s class in school :-/
Sinner just took the second on a tie break.
Draper looks shot.
Are all the line calls automated?
I just saw the Navratilova one. Very good.
Since 2022 they’ve been automated. No line umpires used.
👍 if you get the chance to watch the other two it’s really worth it. There’s a lot of social history included especially with Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe.
Hopefully he will take that new experience on board and deal with it better, ie not being sick on court, which will drain you anyway, and continue upwards for the next few years.
I’d not seen too much of Draper before this tournament, but I heard a radio discussion about him where it was said that he tended to run out of steam the further he went in a competition- based on what I saw of his Semi Final, that looked a valid criticism despite him not having dropped a set before yesterday.
Hope he can build on that tournament. He showed the talent he has by getting to the semis without dropping a set.
The US Open has a strange way of distorting the rankings on that surface. It's also a strangely eery Slam imo. A lot has been made of Draper not dropping a set but that immediately questions the draw he had reaching that semi imo. On paper, there's no way he should have been there but he's shown some really gutsy performances at 22yrs. I mentioned in another post it's great for Davies Cup tennis too.
There's the usual British hyperbole about a player getting to the semis but he was very fortunate not to meet Alcaraz (a massive shock exit). As were quite a few others! Some great matches though but it's my least favourite Slam venue and overall vibe. Give me clay and grass any day.
Sinner's a really good player and there was one shot last night which was the shot of the tournament so far. It should have been a sure winner from Draper but Sinner completely neutralised Draper's left hand cross court shots. That may have been because Draper was unfit. Only time will tell. My feeling is that Draper will be like Henman in terms of career.
I think he will do far better than henman, he won junior Wimbledon I believe not that that means so much. He just needs to sort it out mentally and try and become brutal like Djokovic and Nadal were. Three double faults in one crucial game last night in the first set just show how much pressure he felt, aswell as being sick a few times on the court….
Seems Draper was throwing up on court during his Semi Final, not the first time it’s happened in a game with him either.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/a...s/c7v5400dmdpo
Him being sick on court is very unusual. I don't recall ever seeing that happen and as TOBW has just posted it's happened before. You could well be right about him doing better than Henman but there aren't any players with the mental capacity of Djokovic and Nadal. Maybe he'll slot into somewhere between Henman and Murray. I just don't see him winning a Slam. He's won circa $3M on the tour though (singles and doubles) so he's doing pretty well.
For me, his biggest advantage is his left hand serve and two-handed backhand. At 6'4" he's got the height too. Definitely an exciting British player.
You probably know this but as goats mentioned draper winning Junior Wimbledon it reminded me that JPR Williams was a pretty nifty player back in the day https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news..._open_era.html
Yeah, fraid I’m old enough to remember JPR’s tennis career such as it was - there was another tennis player from Bridgend around then called Gerald Batterick who was in the top half dozen male players in the country around then.
Just looking at his Wiki page and was shocked he died at 51 years old. What's striking is that he was 5'10" which is too short for the professional game now.
The era just after Roger Taylor and you (sorry, Bobby Wilson) were the best we had to offer. Loved Wimbledon in those days but Roger Taylor in particular just couldn't quite make it to the final, a bit like Henman.
Jack Draper will be in Manchester this week for the Davis Cup along with Norrie, Evans, Salisbury and Skupski. It puts into perspective the life of pro tennis players and the amount of traveling, adjustment to indoor/outdoor and surfaces. https://www.lta.org.uk/fan-zone/gb-t...tickets/?nis=2
That's 4 years past the average Male life expectancy in Bridgend.
Mark Cox and Mike Sangster were two other names from that era I remember - seem to recall Gerald Batterick was a bit temperamental on court. Roger Taylor was supposed to have his big chance in the year that many of the top players boycotted Wimbledon (1973 I think), but was beaten in the SemiFinalI think.
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