After facing the biggest two weeks of his blossoming career with sheer ruthlessness and confidence, Jack Draper walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium for the biggest match of his career. He knew that the challenge would require him to elevate his game and physique to a higher level in order to compete against the men’s No. 1 player, Jannik Sinner.

Despite fighting with everything he had, Draper was unable to show his best qualities as he struggled physically in humid conditions and vomited several times. In one of the most turbulent matches of the tournament, Sinner, who himself suffered a wrist injury, defeated Draper 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2 in a psychodrama lasting three hours and three minutes to reach the US Open final for the first time in his career. He will play American Taylor Fritz, who defeated compatriot Frances Tiafoe in five sets in Friday’s other semi-final.

With his 54th victory of this immense breakthrough season, Sinner is the first Italian in history to reach the US Open singles final. The Australian Open champion has won 34 of his 36 matches on hardcourt this year and is looking to end his season by winning his second Grand Slam tournament of the year.

The past few weeks have been a remarkable period in Sinner’s career. A week before the US Open began, the Italian announced that he had tested positive for the banned substance clostebol twice in April, before an independent court ruled last month that Sinner was not at fault or negligent for the presence of the banned substance in his system due to contamination.

Both players entered their opening service games with authority and early in the match, as they were evenly matched from the baseline in several long, physical exchanges, the difference between them was Draper’s serve. In a tricky deuce game at 5-5 he hit three double faults, including one on break point, to deliver the decisive break of the set.

Early in the second set, the match descended into chaos as it became clear that Draper was struggling. He was sweating profusely, sending multiple rackets off the court to change grips, and then changing his soaked shoes because they had become too “dangerous” to compete. From midway through the second set, Draper vomited on the court several times and his mobility gradually decreased. Despite struggling, Draper was still able to find big serves and excellent shotmaking to hold his serve and eventually force a tiebreak.

“The second set I wasn’t feeling great and I still forced it to a tiebreaker,” Draper said. “I fought hard. I’m proud of myself. I tried to fight as hard as I could. But against someone like him, I’m just not going to make it.”

At 4-4, 40-15 on Draper’s serve, Sinner produced one of the best points of the entire tournament, a brilliant defensive effort that ended with him fending off a big smash from Draper with a huge forehand winner in response. But Sinner had slipped during the point and injured his wrist. He took a medical timeout after Draper held his serve, while the Briton was also treated by the doctor. “The physio loosened it up very quickly on court, so after I felt good at the beginning. Then it went away by playing, which is good,” Sinner said. “Let’s see how it is tomorrow when it’s cold.”

With both players struggling physically, Draper looked ill while Sinner avoided backhands. But Sinner recovered and closed out the second set in a dominant tiebreak. With Sinner leading by two sets and Draper looking practical, the third set was a mere formality as the world No. 1 closed out the match to reach his second career Grand Slam final.

Although Sinner is only four months older than Draper, the pair entered the match with a vast difference in experience. Virtually every aspect of this semi-final was new territory for Draper, who has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam only once in his career, while Sinner has been in the top 20 for the last three years and is only the fourth active player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. Draper believes his physical problems stemmed from his lack of experience.

“I think it’s obviously a big deal for me,” Draper said. “Even though I generally feel pretty relaxed and stuff, today I definitely felt a little more excited, a little more nervous. I’m definitely someone who, I think, is a pretty anxious person. I think when you add it all up, I get a little bit nauseous sometimes on the court, and I feel a little bit sick when things get tough.”

Draper believes that some of the physical problems he has struggled with in recent years are due to the fear he sometimes feels before competitions, which stems from his determination.

“I think I have a pretty strong mentality and I often expend a lot of mental energy because I want it so badly,” he said. “But of course that doesn’t always help, especially in those five-set matches and that kind of anxiety and feelings can build up. So it’s definitely something that’s a real strength of mine, but also a weakness, and I have to keep working on it.”

Draper’s physical problems have defined his career so far. He has worked extremely hard and made great strides to get to the point where he is robust enough to perform week after week on the ATP tour and achieve this great breakthrough in New York. But when he left the stadium he knew there was more work to be done.

“I think I just have to keep learning, keep growing, keep having situations like today where I got stuck and how I’m going to do it differently next time and all that stuff,” Draper said. “That’s the biggest thing. I think it’s just a matter of time, honestly. It’s experiences, doing all the right things, it’s consistent training and over time you progress and you get stronger and you get better.”