US Open sensation Jack Draper insists he knew his time would come after reaching his first Grand Slam semi

On the precipice of greatness, Jack Draper insisted he has no fear; that he always knew his time would come.

‘It feels unbelievable to be in this position,’ said the 22-year-old after beating No. 10 seed Alex de Minaur to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.

‘I’ve been working so hard for such a long time now. I had to watch all these young, amazing players winning amazing tournaments.

‘I’m playing on the biggest stage in the world and I felt like, you know, I just wasn’t doing enough to get to that point myself.

‘This is not an overnight thing for me. I’ve believed for a long time that I’ve been putting in the work and doing the right things.

Draper is the first British man to reach the US Open semi-finals since Andy Murray in 2012

‘I knew that my time would come. I didn’t know when it would be, but hopefully from here, you know, I can do a lot of amazing things. I’m very proud of myself.’

Draper is the first British man to reach the semi-finals of the US Open since Andy Murray in 2016, and he believes his chequered history with injury gives the perspective to allow him to embrace this opportunity.

‘I’ve had setbacks, I’ve had times when I’ve maybe thought, ‘Am I cut out for this sport, am I really good enough?’

‘I kept on believing in myself, kept working. Those are hard moments. This is not a hard moment compared to that. This is a privilege, this is an honour.

‘I’m not afraid of being in these positions. I want to keep on doing this, this is why I play.’

Draper, who hit 11 aces against De Minaur, has not dropped a single set in this year’s US Open

Speaking after his quarter-final win, Draper said: ‘I knew that my time would come. I didn’t know when it would be, but hopefully from here, you know, I can do a lot of amazing things’

Whoever he faces between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, Draper believes he has the game to trouble them.

‘You watch these guys winning Grand Slams on TV and you think, “wow, they’re going to be way too good for me”. But even the best players in the world, they only win 53 per cent of the points so it’s just about how clinical you are when it really matters.’