Cilic Shocks at Wimbledon: Draper Eliminated
Jack Draper’s hopes of joining the list of Wimbledon champions faded against an impressive Marin Cilic on Thursday. The Croatian, defying his low ranking, defeated the fourth seed with scores of 6-4, 6-3, 1-6 and 6-4 in the second round. This defeat means Draper has failed to get past the second round at his home Grand Slam tournament for another year. Cilic, who has been absent from Wimbledon since 2021 due to two knee surgeries, demonstrated that his serve and groundstrokes are still intact. This was evidenced by his 16 aces and 53 winners against Draper, securing his first victory over a top-five-ranked player on grass.Even the loud applause and cheers from the fans on Court One couldn’t save Draper from losing five consecutive games from 4-4 in the first set. This sequence gave Cilic the first set, with the Croatian managing a powerful return on the set point and then taking a 3-0 lead in the second.At this stage of my career, to come back and play at this level, in front of this crowd, against Jack, is simply incredible.
Marin Cilic
This advantage was enough for Cilic, world number 83, champion of the 2014 US Open and runner-up of Wimbledon 2017, to secure a two-set lead.
Although it seemed to slow down in the third set, which generated hopes of a Draper comeback, the British player knew he was in trouble when he had to save two break points in the fourth set, and two games later, it was all over. Draper sent a wide forehand after a long exchange, granting Cilic a notable victory considering the Croatian hadn’t won consecutive matches on the main circuit in the last nine months. Cilic was one of the seven men aged 33 or older who played at Wimbledon on Thursday. His victory means that five of them will reach the third round. With Draper’s exit, this year’s Wimbledon is guaranteed to have the fewest seeded players in the third round of a Grand Slam since the 32-seed format began at Wimbledon in 2001, with a maximum of 28 who could advance in the men’s and women’s draws. Cilic will face Spaniard Jaume Munar for a place in the fourth round.
