British number one Jack Draper’s wait for a breakout Wimbledon run continues after a shock second-round defeat by 36-year-old Marin Cilic.
Fourth seed Draper lost 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 to Croatia’s Cilic, who reached the SW19 final in 2017 but is now ranked 83rd in the world.
It means the 23-year-old Englishman has still not reached the third round in any of his four appearances at the All England Club.
Draper was widely considered as the fourth favourite for the men’s title – behind Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
But, in the first Championships of the post-Andy Murray era, Draper has suffered another frustrating early exit.
“Obviously, [I feel] really upset. Probably one of the toughest losses I feel,” an emotional Draper told a news conference.
“I thought Cilic played an incredible match from start to finish. [He] didn’t let up. He deserved the win.”
The US Open semi-finalist was pushed back behind the baseline from the start against Cilic, who dominated the opening two sets with his huge serve and deep returns.
Draper was now in a position which he had never been in before – needing to win a professional match from two sets down.
A drop in Cilic’s pace enabled the home favourite to take control of the third set, but Draper still did not look completely comfortable in the fourth as his wily opponent recovered to edge a tense contest.
Heavily puffing his cheeks out as he left Court One was a sign of the difficulties he had endured on a testing evening from which he will hope to learn.
How Draper was stunned by clinical Cilic
Coming into his home Grand Slam tournament, Draper insisted he could handle the increased scrutiny of being the nation’s greatest hope.
When Draper regained his place as the world number four following a run to the Queen’s semi-finals, it was a significant moment.
As fourth seed at Wimbledon, it meant he was guaranteed to avoid world number one Sinner or two-time defending champion Alcaraz – the heavy favourites for the title – until at least the semi-finals.
Draper, however, was quick to urge caution about placing too much importance on the seeding until the draw was made – and he was right.
The Briton encountered few problems in his opening match on Tuesday, dominating clay-court specialist Sebastian Baez in a two-set lead before the Argentine retired injured.
But the looming figure of Cilic was always likely to be more problematic.
Draper had the racquet taken out of his hand in the opening two sets as Cilic executed his gameplan perfectly.
Playing with depth from the baseline to push Draper back, particularly putting scrutiny on his opponent’s backhand, worked a treat.
Draper was unable to get into position to execute his forehand and, although finding his first serve helped him survive three break points at 4-3 down, he finally lost serve at the end of the opening set.
With the clouds gathering overhead and the atmosphere becoming gloomier, Draper lost serve again early, and it proved to be the decisive break in the second set.
Draper is still waiting for his Murray moment at Wimbledon – the one where he achieves the impossible at the All England Club and causes waves across the nation during a primetime summer slot.
Murray-mania exploded when the Scot fought back from two sets down against Richard Gasquet in 2008.
If Draper had turned things around against Cilic, it could have been a similar type of moment for him.
There was a brief glimmer of hope as Draper was able to use his forehand to greater effect in the third set, but any hopes of a memorable comeback were quickly extinguished.
Draper’s exasperation continued to show in the fourth set, particularly with the electronic line-calling system which has replaced human line judges, and he was broken when serving to stay in the match after he disputed another decision at 15-0.
“I don’t think it’s 100% accurate, in all honesty,” he said.
“A couple of the ones today showed a mark on the court. There’s no way the chalk would have shown.
“I think it’s a shame the [line] umpires aren’t involved.”
‘Incredible’ emotions for Cilic after injury ordeal
When Cilic’s name appeared in Draper’s section in the Wimbledon draw, it felt like a potential problem for the Briton.
The 6ft 6in Croat claimed his sole Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open, but has dropped down the rankings after a serious knee injury two years ago.
A second operation in May last year could have spelt the end of Cilic’s career.
But he has showed great perseverance to return to the sport and, while many veteran players would have perhaps been ready to quit, he dropped down to the second-tier ATP Challenger to rebuild.
Winning the Nottingham title last month was a sign that the former world number three could still perform well on the grass.
Few people, however, would have expected him to beat Draper.
“My emotions are just incredible. Where I was two years ago, I can’t even describe. It has been a long journey,” Cilic said.
“It was a long and testing period, plus a huge challenge for me in this part of my career to come back and play at this level.”
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