On court, Draper’s core team comprises Trotman – whose clear and concise messages offering tactics and encouragement are picked up by the microphone in the players’ box – along with physio Will Herbert, who was with Emma Raducanu when she won the US Open in 2021, and fitness coach Steve Kotze, who has transformed a body all too prone to breaking down.
Until recently, former top-10 player Wayne Ferreira was also part of that coaching team. He helped him tap into a more aggressive mindset, but after four months, Draper decided he wanted to have just one voice in his ear.
“He’s an amazing guy – his value as a coach, but also as a person, is huge,” Draper said on the eve of the US Open.
“But I’m an over-thinker, I like to keep things simple as much as possible, and difficult decisions need to be made in high-level sport.”
Two weeks on, Draper is into the semi-finals. He appeared on the front page of Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, under the caption “Contenders Step Out of the Shadows at the US Open”.
Whatever happens against Jannik Sinner on Friday, Draper will become a top-20 player for the first time – and, as he predicted two years ago, that is unlikely to be his peak.
“I was a really late developer. There are players who have developed really early, and they’re ready to do it when they are 22 or 21,” he said in 2022.
“But I think I’ll be at my peak when I’m 25.”
