Jack Draper has been eliminated from Wimbledon after losing 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 to veteran Marin Cilic in the second round. The 23-year-old British hope, who came into the tournament with high expectations following his rise up the rankings and victory at Indian Wells, was taught a tough lesson by the 36-year-old former finalist.
After the match, Draper admitted he was left wondering how Andy Murray managed to win the title twice. “It makes me think that Andy’s achievement of what he did, winning here twice, was just unbelievable,” he said. “I just didn’t play good enough today. I lost to a better player.”
Cilic, who has been sidelined for over two years with a knee injury requiring two surgeries, showed glimpses of his best form. He won the grass-court Challenger event in Nottingham last month, becoming the oldest winner of such a tournament. “Coming back from the place I was two years ago, I can’t even describe,” Cilic said. “It has been a long journey but I never lost any doubt.”
The match saw Draper struggle on his returns and serve, particularly in the first two sets, and he expressed frustration with Wimbledon’s AI line-calling system, which he felt was “not 100% correct.” After dropping the third set, Cilic regained his composure to seal the victory with a forehand error from Draper at match point.
Draper, making his fourth Wimbledon appearance, acknowledged the defeat highlighted areas for improvement. “I think in some ways it’s a good thing,” he said. “It highlighted a lot of areas of my game which I need to continue to improve on if I want to be [at the top].”
