Jack Draper says being sick on court in his US Open semi-final defeat was “the worst feeling ever”, but he believes Grand Slam success is “just a matter of time”.

The Briton vomited three times during his 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 defeat by world number one Jannik Sinner in New York.

Reaching the last four was the best run of the 22-year-old’s career at a major.

“When you’re playing long matches, you need to be able to drink and give your body the supplies it needs to keep on going,” Draper said.

“But obviously when you’re feeling sick, you can’t put anything inside your body, and it’s the worst feeling ever.

“You can’t move around the court when that happens. It’s a horrible feeling.”

Draper reflected on his performances at Flushing Meadows with a deep sense of pride and vowed to use the experience to continue improving.

“I think I just need to keep on learning, keep growing, keep having situations like today and how am I going to do it different next time,” Draper said.

“I think it is, honestly, just a matter of time.

“It’s experiences, doing all the right things, training consistently, and over time you progress and you get stronger and better.”

Reigning Australian Open champion Sinner, who will play Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s final, backed his good friend to challenge for the sport’s biggest prizes.

“I’m quite sure because I know that he’s potentially winning some big titles in the future,” the Italian said.

“He’s a tough player to play against, he has a great attitude on the court, he’s working hard.

“These are all things together which is great to see.”

Draper, who was ranked 123rd in the world during last year’s US Open, will move into the top 20 next week.

His rise is the result of being more physically durable this season, having suffered a catalogue of injuries and fitness concerns previously.

Being able to play consistently has led him to win his first ATP Tour title, become the British number one and now put together a deep run at a major.

“There is no reason why I don’t belong at the top of the game with these guys,” Draper told Sky Sports.

“I proved that to myself on a few occasions this year.

“My goal now is to do it more consistently and put myself in front of these guys on a regular basis at the back end of tournaments.”

Draper is set to play for Great Britain in Davis Cup Finals group stages in Manchester next week.

Speaking soon after his defeat by Sinner, the British number one told BBC Sport he intends to be “playing there on Wednesday” but will speak to his team before making a final decision.

Britain play against Finland, Argentina and Canada in the round-robin event, with the top two progressing to November’s eight-nation finals in Malaga.

Jeff Tarango, American former player on BBC Radio 5 Live

I was very impressed. I think he over-exceeded what he thought he was going to do here.

He’s having his best Grand Slams at the US Open so maybe this is just a place that he performs really well. I look forward to watching him play a lot more.

Andy Murray played some of his best tennis at the US Open for years and years before he won it.

I’m more impressed with him now than I was before this match. He didn’t play a great match. His body wasn’t quite there the whole time but I’m more impressed with him now.