Sensational Draper brings renewed hope for Britain with US Open run
Everything would have turned out very differently if Roger Draper had been successful back then. Great Britain would have risen to become a world power in tennis, dominating the four Grand Slams over the past 13 years - with a total of 27 titles.
However, Andy Murray only won three. The other 24 were won by a certain Novak Djokovic. Which is why the hopes of the British are now pinned on Roger Draper's son, Jack Draper.
Murray's footsteps
Roger Draper's plan at least showed some foresight. From 2006 to 2013, the father of Jack, who has just surprisingly advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open, was the head of the LTA, the British Tennis Association, and a teenager from Serbia had piqued his interest.
Yes, Djokovic confirmed: "There was an offer for me and my father to get British citizenship. But my parents didn't want to go to England."
Jack Draper has now made it further than any other Briton in 12 years, since 2012 to be precise, when Murray won the US Open.
The 22-year-old Englishman is in the semi-finals in New York and will now face the last remaining top 10 player in the field: Jannik Sinner.
The Italian defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the quarter-finals, while Draper once again didn't drop a set in his 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 win over Alex de Minaur from Australia.
Draper is undoubtedly the biggest surprise guest in a semi-final in which only the world number one Sinner had been expected.
The second semi-final will be contested by the Americans Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, who knocked Alexander Zverev out of the tournament.
"It's an honour to be in this position," says Draper. "That's why I've worked so hard. It didn't happen overnight for me."
Growing ambitions
Draper is not only a hard worker, but also a versatile contemporary. This starts with the fact that he is right-handed - but hits his forehand with his left, and therefore his backhand is an ambidextrous forehand, so to speak.
When he's not playing tennis, Draper works as a model and recently appeared in British Vogue.
But Draper has actually had some tough times. Last season, he was plagued by injury worries and admitted: "Yes, there were times when I thought about quitting."
But last year was also "a turning point" for him. Draper says he found it very "frustrating" to see "young players" like Sinner or "like (Carlos) Alcaraz playing against Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, winning all these great tournaments".
So Draper decided: "I have to do more" to do the same as Sinner or Alcaraz. The first success: victory at the ATP tournament in Stuttgart in June. From Monday, the Londoner will also be ranked at least 20th in the world.
His opponent in the semi-final describes him as "a good friend", but apart from that, Sinner says of Draper: "He's playing an incredible tournament."
