British men’s No1 out to reach third round for first time as he battles 2017 finalist
Home favourite: Jack Draper takes on Marin Cilic for a place in the third round at Wimbledon
John Walton PA Wire
Dom Smith
6 minutes ago
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Jack Draper returns to action at Wimbledon this afternoon as he takes on Marin Cilic. The British men’s No1 is bidding to reach the third round at SW19 for the very first time in his ascending career, having made a confident start to the week against Argentine Sebastian Baez, who retired hurt on Monday evening while trailing 6-2 6-2 2-1.
Now the world No4 faces a potentially tough test back on No1 Court against veteran Cilic, the 2014 US Open winner who reached the final at Wimbledon in 2017, losing to Roger Federer in straight sets. The Croatian, 36, recently provided a reminder of his enduring grass-court abilities by defeating Shintaro Mochizuki to win the Nottingham Open, breaking one of Andy Murray’s long-held records in the process.
Cilic had little trouble against Raphael Collignon in the first round at the All England Club on Tuesday, brushing aside the Belgian World No85 in straight sets 6-3 6-4 6-3, and now he’ll be hoping to upset the home favourite on a week of shocks in west London. Follow Draper vs Cilic live below, with Standard Sport’s Dom Smith at Wimbledon.
Jack Draper vs Marin Cilic latest news
7 minutes ago
Draper 1-2 Cilic
A double fault from Cilic gifts the Brit a first point, and he has another when a return that looked out is not called as such as Hawkeye replays show it hit the line.
Then a fine backhand winner down the line from Cilic keeps him in touch on his service game. It’s then 30-30 when Draper’s shot is called out and the replay shows it to be, well, probably the tightest call I have ever seen at Wimbledon. Perhaps a millimetre or two.
Draper nets and Cilic is 40-30 up.
Game Cilic.
12 minutes ago
Draper 1-1 Cilic
Cilic slices into the tramlines and gets Draper back level at 15-15.
40-15 soon enough, once Cilic returns serve into the net. He gets lucky with a clip of othe tape which brings him the point. It’s now one game all.
16 minutes ago
Draper 0-1 Cilic
Cilic begins with an ace, before putting away a fine crosscourt winner to bring up 30-0 in the match’s first game.
An ace brings Cilic into a commanding lead at 40-0, but Draper slaps a return of serve right back at the Croat, before netting to ensure Cilic holds.
18 minutes ago
Underway
Cilic serves first
19 minutes ago
Here we go…
The warm-up is over.
29 minutes ago
Here come the players!
Out come Draper and Cilic from the dressing room for this second-round clash!
35 minutes ago
Draper looking for a first
Draper is in the second round for the third time but has never reached the third round at Wimbledon. As world No4, he’ll be expected to… today.
45 minutes ago
Draper vs Cilic head-to-head record
This is the first time that the pair have faced off, but let’s compare the two’s run-ins to this year’s Championships.
Draper had just the one grass-court warm-up tournament before Wimbledon, losing in the semi-finals of his home event at Queen’s Club to Jiri Lehecka.
As for Cilic, he dropped down to the Challenger Tour to prepare on the turf.
He lost in the second round at Ilkley to Zachary Svajda, but made up for his early exit by claiming the title at Nottingham, beating Shintaro Mochizuki in the final in straight sets.
51 minutes ago
Standard Sport prediction
Although Cilic is now in the twilight years of his career aged 36, the Croat is still a real threat, especially on grass.
With his huge serve and forehand one-two punch, he can do serious damage to Draper if the Briton is not careful, and he was one of the unseeded players that many of the top-ranked men would have least wanted in their bracket.
However, Draper was hitting through the ball well against Sebastian Baez in his opening round, and can take confidence from getting that first win under his belt.
This will be a tricky affair, where two generations of tennis collide, but the home favourite should be winning this one, despite the fact that Cilic reached the final here back in 2017, and has two Queen’s Club titles to his name.
Draper to win in four sets.
54 minutes ago
Other results at Wimbledon today
Draper flies the British flag in the men’s draw today, as Dan Evans was swept aside by Novak Djokovic first up on Centre Court, losing in straight sets to the seven-time champion.
Iga Swiatek is in action now against the American Caty McNally, while in the women’s draw, seventh seed Mirra Andreeva and former champion Elena Rybakina are both safely through, preceding Draper on Court No1.
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