“Give her time”: Jack Draper praises the “inspiring” Emma Raducanu

British tennis star Jack Draper says his run to the US Open semi-finals was inspired by Emma Raducanu's 2021 triumph and urged critics to “give her time” to get back to her best.

Draper will face world number one Jannik Sinner in the men's semifinals on Friday, his first foray into the last four and reminiscent of Raducanu's amazing run in 2021 at the same tournament that saw her go from qualifier to Grand Slam winner.

The 22-year-old has not dropped a set yet and says Raducanu and Andy Murray inspired his trip to Flushing Meadows.

“What Emma did was obviously incredibly inspirational,” Draper told reporters on Wednesday.

“I've known her since I was a child and it was incredible to see what she achieved. I was very proud of her and very excited. I thought: Of course we've seen people like Andy Murray win a Grand Slam for Great Britain, but her victory was just a fairytale.

“I definitely think it spurred me on as a competitor. I really wanted to achieve what she did, which was to win a Grand Slam.”

Raducanu has had a rough run since winning her first Grand Slam title in 2021. She has struggled with injuries and fitness, with her best Grand Slam title result coming in the fourth round of Wimbledon this year. That has earned her criticism from some ex-pros, but Draper says she needs time to find her rhythm.

“I think it's important that people give her time to go her own way, to improve physically and to work for years to get back to that point,” Draper said of Raducanu.

“There's no doubt it was extremely difficult for Emma because she had done her A-levels and had just finished school and suddenly she came here, had a dream run and won and I think the expectations that were placed on her after that were huge.

“She didn’t necessarily have the physical and overall requirements needed to tour full-time.

“I think it was hard for people to expect her to win everything because even though she won one of the biggest tournaments in the world, that doesn't necessarily mean she's ready to compete on the tour week in and week out.”

Draper is aiming to become the first Briton to win the men's singles at the US Open since Murray's triumph in 2012.

On his way to the final, the Briton defeated Zhang Zhizhen, Facundo Diaz Acosta, Botic van de Zandschulp, Tomas Machac and Alex de Minaur in straight sets each.