Jack Draper is on Cloud 9 after his stellar US Open run. In what has been the most memorable season of his tennis career, Draper is into his maiden Grand Slam semifinal. He became the first British man to do so after Andy Murray and he has a big task at hand later today. Draper will face World Number 1, Jannik Sinner, who is the favorite to win the title in New York. But ahead of his semifinal encounter, Draper has received a major boost.

Initially, Draper’s mother, Nicky, was not supposed to be traveling to New York to watch his son play in the latter stages of the tournament. “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,” Nicky had said when asked if she would travel to New York to watch his son play at the US Open.

But she had a change in plan, as she arrived in New York just ahead of the semi-final. When asked why she made such a late decision to come, Nicky said, “If I had a crystal ball and I knew what was going to happen in each match, then I could plan. But I never knew when he was going to play, at what time he was going to play, I didn’t know if he was going to win, if he was going to lose. I have got things that I do. I see my parents a lot. I work. So yeah if I had a crystal ball, I would have definitely come out a little bit sooner.”

Nicky is a former tennis player herself and she was the one who introduced her son to tennis. She was a former British junior champion during the early days of her career. Nicky would definitely be proud of the way Draper has defied all odds at the US Open and made it to the semis ahead of some of the biggest names.

Despite having a stellar run at Flushing Meadows though, Draper faces a huge challenge in the form of Jannik Sinner who has been on a phenomenal run in the tournament. But ahead of the crunch semifinal encounter against Sinner, Draper is taking inspiration from Emma Raducanu.

Jack Draper lauds Emma Raducanu for being ‘incredibly inspiring’

Back in 2021, Emma Raducanu created shockwaves in the tennis circuit by winning the US Open as a qualifier. Moreover, she didn’t lose a set en route to her victory, which was hailed by the entire tennis world. Years later, Draper is on a similar run and is taking inspiration from his compatriot ahead of the semis.

Talking about Raducanu, Draper said, “What Emma did was obviously incredibly inspiring. I’ve known her from a young age and to see what she did was incredible. I was very proud of her, very excited, watching it thinking, obviously, we’ve watched the likes of Andy Murray winning a grand slam from Great Britain, but her winning, it was just really a fairytale run. I definitely think as a competitor, it fuelled my fire. I really wanted to achieve what she’d done, winning a grand slam.”

However, it’s easier said than done as Draper is up against an in-form Sinner. Can the Briton continue his giant-killing run and upset Sinner in the semifinal of the US Open? Let us know your views in the comments below.