Jack Draper‘s mother has revealed that she is unlikely to fly to New York if her son reaches the US Open final. Draper became the first British man since Andy Murray to make the last four with victory over Alex de Minaur on Wednesday night.
The 22-year-old will face tournament favourite Jannik Sinner on Friday in what is set to be the biggest test of his career to date. His mother Nicky will not be there, though, instead preferring to watch at home with the family dog and a glass of wine.
Nicky, a former British junior champion who introduced Draper to tennis as a child, told BBC Radio 4 she had considered travelling to New York but eventually decided to watch his match against Sinner surrounded by home comforts.
She added that she has been ‘swearing and cursing’ during his matches throughout the US Open despite Draper being yet to drop a single set.
Asked if she would be travelling across the Atlantic, she replied: “It’s in the back of my mind, 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.”
Draper and Sinner are good friends and recently teamed up to play doubles at last month’s Canadian Open. However, they will be forced to put their friendship to one side when they go up against each other for a place in the US Open final.
Quizzed on the bond between the two players, Nicky explained: “I think they’re quite good friends actually,” said Nicky. “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?”
Before his quarter-final win over De Minaur, Draper admitted that he previously had doubts about whether he would make it as a professional tennis player. Opening up on those doubts, his mother insisted that he never gave serious consideration to putting his racket away for good.
“I don’t think he seriously thought about giving up,” she explained. “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.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk