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.

"Hes 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 Im 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 Thursdays 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."