Jannik Sinner vs Jack Draper - US Open Tennis Prediction and Pick 9/6/24

Jannik Sinner will play in his first US Open semifinal on Friday. The top seed put paid to pre-tournament noise about escaping a doping ban and whether he was accorded any favoritism in his case to steam into the last four as his closest challengers each dropped like a fly.

With Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev all losing before the semifinal, Sinner had one job to do, which was to beat a top-five seed in Daniil Medvedev. And he duly delivered in the quarterfinal as he outclassed the Russian former champion in four sets in a match that took 32 games to decide.

Jack Draper, for his part, will play in his first Grand Slam semifinal after beating Australia's Alex de Minaur in straight sets. The 22-year-old dropped just ten games in a powerful display that resonates with his style of play. 

In the win, which took about two hours and eight minutes, Draper registered 11 aces to four double faults and got 56% of first serves in play. He won 84% of first-serve points (42/50) and 49% of second-serve points (19/39). Draper converted six of 20 break points. He is the first British man to reach this stage of the US Open since Andy Murray in 2012.

Jannik Sinner vs Jack Draper Head-To-Head

• Draper leads Sinner 1-0 in their head-to-head, winning their lone ATP meeting at Queen's Club three years ago.

Jannik Sinner vs Jack Draper Prediction

This should be a great match, possibly even more competitive than the second semifinal. Draper has flown under the radar during this tournament, and he's not dropped a set. When you get to this stage of a Grand Slam, it's not by accident. So, the Briton is playing extremely well, and the scary thing is that he believes he's still got a level that he can go above from that which he beat De Minaur in the quarterfinal.

I'm not sure what Sinner will be making of that statement, but one thing that has impressed me with the Italian is his resilience and poise despite being afflicted with a stained reputation (according to some naysayers) on his doping case just before the tournament. So, we can be rest assured Sinner will not be taking his eyes off the ball, and although Draper has the swashbuckling and electric tennis to hit through any defense, it will be a real test of his character of having to fight a losing deficit, something that has not happened to him all tournament.