Draper Crashes Out of Wimbledon After Stunning Loss to Veteran Cilic

British number one Jack Draper saw his hopes of a deep Wimbledon run dashed once again, following a surprise second-round defeat to seasoned Croatian Marin Cilic.

Despite entering the tournament as the fourth seed and tipped as one of the favourites behind Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic, Draper fell 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 to the 36-year-old Cilic, a former finalist at SW19 who is currently ranked 83rd in the world.

The loss extends Draper’s underwhelming record at the All England Club, with the 23-year-old still yet to progress beyond the second round in four main-draw appearances.

In what many considered a potential turning point for British tennis in the post-Andy Murray era, Draper struggled to find rhythm early on as Cilic used his trademark powerful serve and deep groundstrokes to dominate the first two sets.

Facing a two-set deficit — a position he had never come back from in his professional career — Draper mounted a brief resurgence in the third, taking advantage of a slight dip in Cilic’s level to stay in the match.

However, the experienced Croat regained his composure in the fourth, keeping Draper under pressure and eventually sealing victory in a tight finish, much to the disappointment of the home crowd.