Jack Draper gives worrying update on future Wimbledon prospects as he admits he can't play on grass
And though he denied he buckled under the weight of a nation, he praised legendary Andy Murray for how he managed to win the Championship twice in front of home fans.
3
Jack Draper was left hurting and frustrated by his early Wimbledon exit to Marin Cilic
Credit: Getty
3
The British No1 admitted he struggles to play his best tennis on grass
Credit: Getty
The
'I thought Cilic played an incredible match from start to finish. Didn't let up. He deserved the win. But it hurts a lot.
'It's highlighted to me this year that I really struggled on the grass in all honesty.
READ MORE ON WIMBLEDON
'I felt great on the hard and clay. There weren't many holes in my game – whereas as soon as I came onto the grass, I felt a big difference.
'It's just something I've got to keep in mind, how I'm going to develop my game for the long-term for next year. Just to get better as a player.
'For sure, it highlighted a lot of weaknesses in my game.
'I mean it makes me think that
Most read in Tennis
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
'It's not the pressure. I just didn't play good enough. I lost to a better player.
'I just wasn't able to find the level I wanted. I came up short.
Celebrities arrive for day 4 of Wimbledon - including Sir Cliff Richard
'The hole in my forehand showed up. I wasn't able to deal with his pace of ball into my forehand. I was over-spinning a lot.
'I've still got a lot of areas that I need to improve in my game.
'There's a bit of a misconception, just because I'm a 6ft 4ins lefty, I must be incredible on grass. I haven't had loads of experience on it.'
Former US Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon runner-up Cilic, 36, said: 'The emotions are just incredible.
"Where I was two years ago, I cannot even describe. It's been a long journey.
'I never lost any doubt. It was long and testing. It's incredible to win this. Thanks to the crowd for great sportsmanship.'
3
Wimbledon 2025 LIVE -
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
23 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Tearful Emma Raducanu reveals showdown talks with coach Mark Petchey after Wimbledon exit
FIGHTING back the tears, Emma Raducanu said she will hold showdown talks with coach Mark Petchey about their future working arrangement. But she claims she will head next month to New York – the scene of CAN match the world's best. Advertisement 3 Emma Raducanu was knocked out of Wimbledon on Friday night Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 3 Raducanu was respectably beaten by world No1 Aryna Sabalenka Credit: Reuters For those who had doubted whether the Brit would ever replicate the magical form she showed when lifting the US Open four years ago, this was a demonstration of her abilities. Though she fell short, and was unable to capitalise on two clutch moments in set two, she earned widespread respect for slugging it out with the three-time Grand Slam champion on Centre Court. Petchey, who joined her team on a part-time basis in March, has had a transformative impact on her form and demeanour but there is no guarantee that coaching gig will continue. Advertisement READ MORE WIMBLEDON The former tennis player earns a decent living as a respected TV analyst but has to decide now whether to give that all up to sit in Raducanu's box. Raducanu said: 'It's very difficult. He obviously also has his commentating commitments. 'He agreed to help me until the end of Wimbledon and then we kind of see from there. 'Because he gave up some work to work with me here, which I really appreciate and I'm grateful for. Advertisement Most read in Sport Breaking BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 'That's a conversation that we need to have after a few days and the dust settles a little bit.' Clutching a tissue and sniffling constantly, Raducanu had slightly red eyes when she addressed the world's media following her exit. Cam Norrie bats away awkward question about Emma Raducanu's love life It has been an emotional summer for the Kent-based superstar, one in which she has faced security concerns and received 'some pretty bad news' during her run in Eastbourne. Advertisement But as self-critical as she is about her own displays, she is proud of how she competed toe-for-toe with Sabalenka, 27, especially in a 74-minute opening set under a closed roof. And that only bodes well for the hard-court swing in North America. 'IT GIVES ME CONFIDENCE' Raducanu – who will play the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington later this month – said: 'It's hard to take a loss like that. 'It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top. Advertisement 'Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence. At the same time, it's very difficult to take right now. 'It gives me confidence that I'm not as far away as I perhaps thought before the tournament. 'Before when I was playing those top-five players, it was pretty convincing, the loss. 'IT'S A BIT OF A LEVELLER' 'I feel like grass for me is a great surface. It's a bit of a leveller in that sense. Advertisement 'Taking it onto a different surface where it's a lot more lively in America is another challenge in itself. 'There's still a lot of things that I want to do better, a lot of things I want to improve to solidify my game, so that in the big moments I can back myself a little bit more. 'I don't think I've really had a loss like this in a long time, where I feel like I maybe had chances and didn't take them. Usually I'm pretty good at converting. 'In the big moments, Aryna was able to convert. She was able to hit some incredible shots. Advertisement 'I just need to keep working and get back to the drawing board and improve a lot more.' 3 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE -
Irish Independent
25 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Former champion Elena Rybakina the latest big name dumped out of Wimbledon
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina serves during their Wimbledon third round match against Denmark's Clara Tauson Former champion Elena Rybakina was unable to weather the storm as she slipped out of Wimbledon following a rain-delayed defeat to 22-year-old Dane Clara Tauson. The world number 11 was bidding to emulate her achievements of 2022 when she overcame Ons Jabeur in the final. But, in a third-round contest featuring two suspensions due to wet weather, she lost 7-6 (6) 6-3 in two hours and 16 minutes on Court Two. Kazakh player Rybakina - the 11th seed - made 31 unenforced errors during the match, including sending a straightforward forehand long on match point. Tauson's reward for one of the biggest wins of her career is a last-16 meeting with either five-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek or American Danielle Collins. 'It was amazing to play here today, even though it was a little rainy,' the world number 22 said in her on-court interview. 'I don't know what to say. I think I played a really great match. Before this grass season, I had never won a match on grass, so I'm super happy with how I played today. 'Elena plays so hard, but I was there fighting for every single point so I think that was the key today. 'My coach, who is also my boyfriend (Kasper Elsvad), we've worked so hard the whole year and the end of last year. I've worked so hard towards this.' Earlier, teenage seventh seed Mirra Andreeva rushed into round four with a straight-sets win over American world number 55 Hailey Baptiste. With inclement conditions temporarily halting play on the outer courts, the 18-year-old Russian cruised to a 6-1 6-3 victory under the Court One roof. Aside from world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who overcame Britain's Emma Raducanu on Friday evening, Andreeva is the highest seeded player remaining in the women's draw following a series of upsets across week one of the tournament. She will face either reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova or 10th seed Emma Navarro in the last eight. Baptiste, who has Frances Tiafoe's twin brother Franklin in her coaching team, failed to hold serve in game one en route to dropping the opening set in just 31 minutes. The 23-year-old Wimbledon debutant offered more resistance in the second but, despite breaking back in game five and forcing five break points in game seven, Andreeva marched on. Liudmila Samsonova joins compatriot Andreeva in the second week after hitting a monster serve of 128 miles per hour in her 6-2 6-3 victory over Daria Kasatkina. Samsonova's effort was just short of the Wimbledon women's record of 129mph - set by Venus Williams in 2008. Kasatkina, who switched allegiance from Russia to Australia earlier this year after publicly criticising her country's LGBTQ+ laws and the war in Ukraine, trailed 6-2 2-0 when play was temporarily halted by rain and could not mount a comeback.
RTÉ News
28 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Max Verstappen snatches Silverstone pole, setback for Alex Dunne in F2 sprint race
Max Verstappen saw off McLaren's Formula One title-contending duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to put his Red Bull on pole position for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Verstappen did not look to be in the hunt for first place, but he pulled a brilliant lap out of the bag to beat Piastri by 0.103 seconds with Norris third, 0.118 seconds adrift. George Russell took fourth for Mercedes, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had dared to dream of a first pole position for Ferrari, but ended up two tenths off the pace. Charles Leclerc qualified sixth in the other Ferrari. Verstappen was only fourth after the opening runs in Q3 at a gusty and overcast Silverstone, and complained his Red Bull was difficult to drive. However, when it mattered most the four-time world champion came from nowhere to take top spot - his first pole since Miami at the beginning of May. "Simply lovely," he said over the radio and then added: "That final lap was good enough. This is a proper track in qualifying where you have to go flat out. "It is a big boost for the team as well and excited to go racing tomorrow. We are going to go racing, we will do the best we can." Norris said: "Not the top but still a good day. It's going to be fun tomorrow, a good battle. It's going to be an interesting Sunday so I'm looking forward to it." Norris starts his home race 15 points behind Piastri in the world championship, and he will have to force himself ahead of his team-mate to prevent the Australian from extending his title advantage. Hamilton is the King of Silverstone, winning a record nine times and finishing on the podium in all of his last 11 appearances at his home race. He heads into Sunday's British Grand Prix without a top-three finish to his name in Ferrari colours but that could change following a strong performance - out-qualifying Leclerc for just the fourth time this year - although he might feel disappointed not to be nearer the front after heading into the final runs in Q3 in second. British rookie Ollie Bearman will line up from 18th for his first home race after he was served with a 10-place grid penalty for crashing in the pit-lane. Bearman was also sanctioned with four penalty points after he entered the pits at 160mph during a red-flag period in the final practice session. The punishment leaves Bearman, who actually qualified an impressive eighth, on just eight points from the first 12 rounds of his career, leaving him only four away from a race ban. Q1 was suspended for 10 minutes after Franco Colapinto spun at the final corner. Colapinto hit the kerb sending him sideways and through the gravel and then gently into the wall. The Argentine was able to limp out of the sand trap but the running was red-flagged following repairs to the barriers. Earlier, in the F2 sprint race, it was a race to forget for Ireland's Alex Dunne as he dropped to fourth in the drivers' championship standings. The Offaly native had started the Silverstone round second in the championship behind Richard Verschoor but a collision with Italian driver Gabriele Mini on lap eight left the Rodin team driver with damage to his car, forcing a pitstop that left him last on track. Mini subsequently received a ten-second penalty for his part in the incident. Dunne continued on before retiring the car with four laps to go. Netherlands' Verschoor scored one point after finishing eighth in the sprint which extends his championship lead over the 19-year-old Irishman to 25 points. Italian Leonardo Fornaroli, who won the sprint, and US driver Jak Crawford have also leapfrogged Dunne in the standings by six and one point respectively. Dunne will have a chance to bounce back quickly with Sunday's feature race still to come, for which he has qualified second.
