Britain`s Jack Draper openly expressed his profound disappointment following his surprising second-round elimination at Wimbledon by 36-year-old Marin Cilic, admitting, “I truly struggle on grass.”
Draper, who entered this year`s tournament as the highly-ranked fourth seed and was widely expected to perform well, was defeated 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 by the veteran Croatian on Court One.
Cilic hadn`t played at Wimbledon since 2021 due to a persistent knee issue, yet he overcame the British player who is 13 years his junior.
“Honestly, I`ve been very disappointed with how my game has been on grass this year,” Draper told the media after the loss.
“I didn`t feel very good at Queen`s. I`m not sure how I even reached the semi-finals there and got a chance to make the final.”
“It`s shown me this year that I genuinely struggle on grass. I felt great on hard courts, great on clay. My game felt like it had few weaknesses, but as soon as I got on grass, I noticed a significant difference.”
“This is something I must consider regarding how I`ll develop my game long-term for next year, just to improve as a player.”
“Certainly, it has revealed many weaknesses in my game, especially playing against someone performing as well as he was today, someone as skilled as Cilic on grass.”
When asked specifically about the weaknesses exposed on grass, Draper responded: “My forehand weakness definitely showed up. I couldn`t handle the speed of his shots directed at my forehand. I was over-spinning a lot.”
“I think much of my forehand success this year comes when I have more time, making it much easier to generate the desired speed, spin, and effectiveness.”
“Obviously, my movement could have been better. There are many parts of my game I still significantly need to work on to become the player I aspire to be.”
![Jack Draper (GBR) [4] during his Gentlemen`s Singles First Round match against Sebastian Baez (ARG) during day two of The Championships Wimbledon](https://e0.365dm.com/25/07/768x432/skysports-jack-draper-tennis_6956520.jpg?20250703175936)
“I want to feel completely confident in every aspect of my game. That`s what you see with the top players; they are constantly consistent because they have no vulnerabilities.”
“The past couple of weeks have been beneficial in showing me that despite making amazing progress over the last year, I still have many areas in my game that require improvement.”
“In some ways, that`s exciting, and in some ways, it`s difficult to accept because I thought I was further along than I am.”
