- The Englishman looked worse and worse every time he sat down on his bench.
- And his Italian rival didn’t look much better, screaming in pain during treatment.
- Draper had lost the first set 7-5 in her first Grand Slam semi-final.
The US Open semi-final between Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner has been dominated by illness and injury for both players as they battle in wet conditions in a marathon match.
The Englishman vomited on court a couple of times in a second set that he later lost when Sinner complained of a problem with his left wrist after falling on it during one of several closely contested points.
The 22-year-old looked uncomfortable on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court throughout the set, appearing to bend on a couple of occasions between points, before losing it in a tiebreak.
Draper appeared to be ill at the start of the set, having lost the first to the Italian 7-5, but then vomited clearly in front of the television cameras when the score was 4-3 in his favour.
Meanwhile, Sinner continues to struggle with a painful left wrist injury that appears to be hampering his backhand in the decider.
Jack Draper vomited on the court during the US Open semi-final
Meanwhile, Sinner continues to struggle with a painful left wrist injury.
Draper looked ailing early in the second set, having lost the first to the Italian 7-5.
At one point, both teams of physiotherapists were treating the players at the same time and the intense competition took its toll on the two stars, who are friends off the field.
Draper, though she put on a valiant display on court, looked worse every time she sat on her bench between service games.
And Sinner didn’t look much better, screaming in pain as members of his team tended to him on the sidelines.
Throughout the set there was a somewhat ridiculous discussion about whether the ground crew should properly clean up Draper’s fluids.
Instead, a frustrated Draper insisted on wiping it off himself with his towel and carefully walking around the affected area during the stitches.
Despite fighting hard, the Englishman, who was playing in his first Grand Slam semi-final, was unable to land a decisive blow on his opponent’s serve and the second set had to go to a tiebreak.
Just before the decider, the umpire urged Draper to agree to have the staff completely clean up the vomit, but the 22-year-old resisted, despite appearing bothered by the liquid throughout the set.
Sinner then put aside his wrist injury and raced to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak before crossing the line to take a two-set lead.
Conditions were uncomfortably humid in New York during the close match and this seemed to take its toll on the two tennis stars.
Draper, though he showed bravery on the court, looked worse every time he sat on the bench.
And Sinner didn’t look much better, screaming in pain as members of his team tended to him on the sidelines.
The Italian was seen clutching his wrist on several occasions during the second set.
One person who witnessed Draper’s ordeal was his mother, Nicky, after she made a last-minute change to attend the game after missing the early rounds.
“I have a flight booked for this afternoon,” he said. “I decided to go this morning.”
This represented a big change from his comments earlier this week, when he said he would “probably not” be at the stadium for the monumental clash.
