LONDON: Marin Cilic has produced one of the biggest wins of his career in recent years after knocking fourth seed Jack Draper out of Wimbledon.
Cilic, who entered the match with four Tour-level main draw wins to his name this season, turned back the years with a vintage 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, win over the British player. A former finalist in 2017, the Croat was relentless throughout his match on Court One, hitting an impressive 53 winners, which was 24 more than his opponent.
“The emotions are just incredible. Where I was two years ago, I can’t even describe,” said Cilic, who is playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2021.
“It’s been a long journey. I never lost any doubt. It was long and testing. A huge challenge for me in this part of the career to come back and play this kind of level, in front of this crowd, against Jack.. it’s just incredible.”
Coming into Wimbledon, Cilic had enjoyed success on the grass but on the lower-level Challenger Tour by winning the Nottingham Open. A triumph which made him the oldest player to win a Challenger event on the surface.
“It has been a long career for me. I have been really dedicated on training for my whole life and, of course, huge credit to my team and to everyone who is helping me on this journey,” he said.
“I’ve spent the last few weeks in the United Kingdom enjoying myself, playing through some Challengers and winning matches. I’m just feeling great and hoping I can continue to play well.”
The high-profile win comes less than a week after Cilic declared that he is not setting any limits for himself despite being 36 and having spent lengthy periods on the sidelines in recent years due to injury.
“I’m going until I’m going,” he told a small group of reporters on Sunday evening at The All England Club.
“I’m physically feeling really good. Since September, I started with some tournaments and now, when I’ve got into the groove of playing, like a regular season, my body feels good. I’m not setting any limits.”
Meanwhile, Draper’s Wimbledon heartbreak continues. He is yet to win back-to-back matches at The All England Club in his career. Although he had high hopes heading into this year’s draw after winning his maiden Masters 1000 title earlier in the season and cracking the world’s top five for the first time.
Cilic will next play Jaume Munar for a place in the last 16. Should he win, it will be his best run at the tournament since reaching the final seven years ago.
In terms of ranking, Cilic’s victory over Draper is his biggest win on the Tour since the 2022 French Open, when he beat Daniil Medvedev, who was ranked No.2 at the time.
