Jack Draper knocked out of Wimbledon by inspired former finalist Marin Cilic

South Wales Guardian

2 days ago

The Croatian lost to Roger Federer in the 2017 showpiece, three years after winning his only grand slam title at the US Open, but at 36 his best days appeared to be very much behind him.
Cilic rolled back the years with a sublime performance, hitting 53 winners in a 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 victory, but this will be a bitter pill for Draper, who has elevated himself into the world's top four but is still yet to go beyond the second round at his home grand slam.
British fans could have been forgiven for thinking Cilic had retired, with the Croatian back at the All England Club for the first time in four years.
A knee problem that required two operations and kept him out for the better part of two years might have been the end but Cilic was determined to come back.
His ability on grass has never been in doubt – although unexpectedly this was his first victory over a top-five player on the surface – with the former world number three twice winning the title at Queen's Club as well as his run to the Wimbledon final.
He returned to the top 100, meanwhile, by winning the second-tier Challenger event in Nottingham last month.
Upset alert 🚨
Croatia's Marin Cilic stuns Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to knock the No.4 seed out of The Championships 2025 😮#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/rZP6NQjWRy
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2025
From the start of this contest, which strangely was not scheduled for Centre Court, Cilic showed he has not lost the metronomic quality of his flat, deep ground strokes.
Draper's weapons have been the talk of tennis this year but here he found himself on the back foot and scrambling several feet behind the baseline to try to find any semblance of control.
Cilic was returning Draper's serves back to his feet and seizing any chance he had to drill the ball into the corners.
Draper might have thought he had dodged a bullet when he recovered from 0-40 in the eighth game, letting out a loud shout of 'Come on', but Cilic played an incredible returning game two games later, ending it with a clean return winner on his first set point.
A chance to get a break of serve at the start of the second and halt his opponent's momentum came and went, and Draper was in deep trouble when he dropped serve again, with Cilic winning five games in a row.
Having been dumped out of the French Open in the fourth round by an inspired Alexander Bublik last month, Draper must have been having deja vu as Cilic continued to play at a level miles above his ranking of 83.
If there was a criticism of the British number one it was that he had been a little too safe with his ground strokes, and going into the third set he suddenly decided to go for broke.
It worked. Leading 2-1, Draper drew gasps from the crowd with a ferociously struck forehand and moved to 0-40.
Cilic saved the first two break points but on the third, after his ball-bouncing habit had finally earned him a time violation, he was unable to cope with a Draper backhand drilled down the line.
It was the breakthrough the 23-year-old desperately needed, and it was swiftly followed by a second break to give Draper and the crowd some much-needed hope.
He won three successive five-set matches at the Australian Open in January but had never come back to two sets down to triumph and, the longer the fourth set went on, the more Cilic looked the likely winner.
A mishit Draper forehand gave Cilic two break points in the eighth game but the home hope clung on, a forehand from the Croatian on the second peeping over the net tape but falling back on his side.
Draper was in trouble again two games later, though, and this time a netted forehand gave Cilic match point, which the Croatian took.