British tennis star Jack Draper has been knocked out of Wimbledon in a surprise result, losing to experienced Croatian player Marin Cilic in the second round.
Cilic, now 36 and ranked 83rd in the world, played brilliantly and hit 53 winners to win the match 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. The result stunned the home crowd on Court One.
Draper, seen as the new face of British tennis after Andy Murray’s retirement, has still never reached the third round at Wimbledon in four tries. Despite reaching the semi-finals at the US Open last year, he hasn’t made the quarter-finals of any Grand Slam in 2024.
Cilic, who was a finalist at Wimbledon in 2017, hadn’t played at the tournament since 2021 due to injury problems. But his strong performance against Draper showed he can still compete at the top level on grass.
This win also marks Cilic’s first victory over a top-five ranked player on grass. He recently returned to the world’s top 100 after winning a Challenger event in Nottingham.
