Cilic plays dream-wrecker to British hopes by toppling fourth seed Draper

LONDON :There were high hopes that Jack Draper would rescue what had been a lousy day for the home nation at Wimbledon when he emerged for his second-round showdown against a rival who was ranked outside the world's Top 1000 just 10 months ago.

Add in the fact that his 36-year-old opponent had been hobbled by injuries in recent years, had won back-to-back matches on the main tour only once in the last nine months and had never beaten a Top-5 player on grass in his entire career - and a younger and fitter Draper seemed a shoo-in for victory.

Unfortunately for the 23-year-old Briton the opponent he ran into was called Marin Cilic, a man with a proven Grand Slam pedigree who had won the U.S. Open in 2014 and finished runner-up at the All England Club in 2017.

Despite now plying his trade mostly on the second-tier Challenger circuit after his ranking went into freefall following knee surgery in 2023, the Croatian felt right at home in front of a packed Court One and produced an inspired performance to topple fourth seed Draper 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4.

"We are all stunned. We have to absorb that. Jack Draper didn't do an awful lot wrong but when Marin Cilic is hot he can take the racket out of your hand. He is a Grand Slam winner and he bludgeoned Draper," observed 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash while commentating.

Having last played at Wimbledon in 2021, Thursday's remarkable win over Draper proved to Cilic that he still had plenty to give to the sport despite going through the lowest of the lows over the past 24 months.

"My emotions are just incredible. Where I was two years ago, I can't even describe. It has been a long journey but I never lost any doubt," an emotional Cilic told the Court One crowd.

"It was a long and testing period,