Jack Draper makes his thoughts about Emma Raducanu perfectly clear at Wimbledon
Jack Draper became the latest Brit to crash out of Wimbledon when he was beaten in four sets by Marin Cilic on Thursday, but he is still hopeful of success for the home contingent
Jack Draper has the ultimate confidence in Emma Raducanu
(Image: PA )
Jack Draper has expressed his belief that Emma Raducanu is well-equipped to carry the British hopes at Wimbledon, following his own exit from the tournament.
Despite being tipped as a strong contender for a significant run at the Championships, Draper's campaign ended in the second round, marking the third time he has stumbled at this stage in his burgeoning career.
Marin Cilic, ranked 83rd in the world, delivered a powerful performance on Centre Court to defeat the fourth seed. With Draper out, attention turns to Raducanu, Cameron Norrie, and Sonay Kartal, who are among the last of the 23 British players in the singles draws to reach the third round.
In his post-match press conference, Draper said: "Of course [we] still have British hope. Emma is playing great. I watched her play yesterday. That was amazing." Raducanu has dazzled crowds at the All England Club with convincing victories over Mimi Xu in the opening round and former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second.
She now faces a formidable challenge against top seed Aryna Sabalenka on Friday. However, Draper remains optimistic about Raducanu's chances against the Belarusian superstar, stating: "She has a real opportunity. I hope she goes on and does us all proud. She's definitely got the capability to do that," reports the Express.
Draper spoke highly of Britain's other two hopefuls, saying: "Cam, Sonay, these guys are going to be flying the flag now. I think they're incredible players, they all want it so badly. I know them all personally. They're all great people, great players. They deserve everything they're going to get. I'm looking forward to watching them play."
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Emma Raducanu faces a stern test in the form of Aryna Sabalenka in the third round on Friday
(Image: Peter van den Berg/ISI Photos, ISI Photos via Getty Images )
The 22-year-old acknowledged that he might find it too painful to watch his compatriots up close after missing out on his own chance at Wimbledon success. "Maybe I'll try to stay away from it, in all honesty, because it hurts badly," he confessed. "I want them to have amazing success. They deserve that for sure."
Excitement built around Draper following his dominant performance against Sebastian Baez in the opening round, with the Argentine retiring in the third set. However, Cilic used his wealth of experience to cause a significant upset at Wimbledon on Thursday.
The 36-year-old delivered 16 aces towards Draper and hit an impressive number of forehand winners, earning him a spot in the third round against Jaume Munar. Speaking after his defeat, the Brit was brutally honest in his assessment on how he's performed on grass so far this year.
The Brit was bounced out of the second round of Wimbledon by Marin Cilic
(Image: Getty )
"I've been really disappointed with the way my game's been on the grass this year, in all honesty," he admitted. "I wasn't feeling too great at Queen's. I don't know how I made the semis there. This year I really struggled on the grass.
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"I felt great on the hard, felt great on the clay, I felt like there weren't many holes in my game, whereas as soon as I came on to the grass, I felt a big difference. It highlighted a lot of weaknesses in my game, especially against a player the way he was playing today, someone as good as him on the grass.
"I think the hole in my forehand showed up, for sure. I wasn't able to deal with his pace of ball into my forehand. I was over-spinning a lot. I think a lot of my success this year with my forehand was when I have more time and I can create the speed and the spin that I want."
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