Latest news with #TheChampionships2025
The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Jack Draper pinpoints areas for improvement after Wimbledon disappointment
Although he won his first ATP Tour title on grass in Stuttgart last summer, his defeat by Marin Cilic on Thursday meant he has still not been beyond the second round at Wimbledon, making it comfortably his worst grand slam. Upset alert 🚨 Croatia's Marin Cilic stuns Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to knock the No.4 seed out of The Championships 2025 😮#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2025 'I think there's a bit of a misconception, just because I'm a 6ft 4in lefty, I must be incredible on grass,' said Draper. 'I obviously won Stuttgart, but I haven't had loads of experience on it. 'I don't think I played incredibly well on it before. Obviously I've never gone past the second round here. Some players find it harder than others. I'm obviously very determined to change that and make it a surface that is going to be great for me. 'I feel like that's the way with every surface. When you have the mindset of, even though I don't feel comfortable, I'm going to make it happen, I'm going to make it better for me, it usually works. That's what I did on the clay this year. 'It's just hard to find that time because we don't have a lot of time to play on grass throughout the year.' Jack Draper leaves Court One (Ben Whitley/PA) It was very evident that Cilic, a former finalist at the All England Club, was much more at home on the surface than Draper, who looked rushed and was left scrambling around behind the baseline while his opponent dictated most of the baseline points. 'I think the hole in my forehand showed up, for sure,' said Draper. '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, when I have more time, it's a lot easier for me because I can create the speed and the spin that I want, and the effectiveness of that. 'Obviously movement could have been better. There's many areas of my game which I still really, really need to work on to be the player I want to be. 'I want to feel like everything in my game is secure. I think that's what you see with the top, top guys. They're so consistent all the time because there's no holes in their game.' Draper's improvements this season, which have carried him to a first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and a top-four ranking, have been credited partly to him finding a balance to his game. But, speaking on the BBC, John McEnroe urged Draper to stand further up the court, saying: 'He's done great, he's got to four in the world. If I was looking from a distance at Jack, I was like, 'Why's he standing so far back all the time?' 'Especially on hard courts, even clay. Is he quick enough to cover, is he fit enough do that consistently? Is that what he wants to do, to wear people down that way? 'The forehand's gotten way bigger. To me, at Wimbledon, you've got to cut off some of these angles, because it's tougher to make those quick first steps.' Jack Draper speaks about the "misconception" around him 🗣#Wimbledon — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 3, 2025 Draper will now turn his attention to the North American hard court season, where his big breakthrough came with a run to the US Open semi-finals last year. In New York, the Londoner was the outsider, whereas now he is the big name to be shot at, and both Cilic and Alexander Bublik at the French Open produced inspired performances to upset him. 'I've got to expect that now,' he said. 'Obviously I've got a bit of a target on my back with my ranking. 'Are they playing that well because I'm dropping the ball short, I'm not doing enough with the ball? That's what good players do, they punish you.'
Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Jack Draper pinpoints areas for improvement after Wimbledon disappointment
Jack Draper came into Wimbledon hoping to follow in Andy Murray's footsteps as a home champion but departs the All England Club with a lengthy to-do list. The assumption is that British players have an advantage on grass but for Draper it is the opposite, with the 23-year-old admitting he has not yet worked out how to maximise his abilities on the surface. Although he won his first ATP Tour title on grass in Stuttgart last summer, his defeat by Marin Cilic on Thursday meant he has still not been beyond the second round at Wimbledon, making it comfortably his worst grand slam. Upset alert 🚨 Croatia's Marin Cilic stuns Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to knock the No.4 seed out of The Championships 2025 😮 #Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2025 'I think there's a bit of a misconception, just because I'm a 6ft 4in lefty, I must be incredible on grass,' said Draper. 'I obviously won Stuttgart, but I haven't had loads of experience on it. 'I don't think I played incredibly well on it before. Obviously I've never gone past the second round here. Some players find it harder than others. I'm obviously very determined to change that and make it a surface that is going to be great for me. 'I feel like that's the way with every surface. When you have the mindset of, even though I don't feel comfortable, I'm going to make it happen, I'm going to make it better for me, it usually works. That's what I did on the clay this year. 'It's just hard to find that time because we don't have a lot of time to play on grass throughout the year.' It was very evident that Cilic, a former finalist at the All England Club, was much more at home on the surface than Draper, who looked rushed and was left scrambling around behind the baseline while his opponent dictated most of the baseline points. 'I think the hole in my forehand showed up, for sure,' said Draper. '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, when I have more time, it's a lot easier for me because I can create the speed and the spin that I want, and the effectiveness of that. 'Obviously movement could have been better. There's many areas of my game which I still really, really need to work on to be the player I want to be. 'I want to feel like everything in my game is secure. I think that's what you see with the top, top guys. They're so consistent all the time because there's no holes in their game.' Draper's improvements this season, which have carried him to a first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and a top-four ranking, have been credited partly to him finding a balance to his game. But, speaking on the BBC, John McEnroe urged Draper to stand further up the court, saying: 'He's done great, he's got to four in the world. If I was looking from a distance at Jack, I was like, 'Why's he standing so far back all the time?' 'Especially on hard courts, even clay. Is he quick enough to cover, is he fit enough do that consistently? Is that what he wants to do, to wear people down that way? 'The forehand's gotten way bigger. To me, at Wimbledon, you've got to cut off some of these angles, because it's tougher to make those quick first steps.' Jack Draper speaks about the "misconception" around him 🗣 #Wimbledon — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 3, 2025 Draper will now turn his attention to the North American hard court season, where his big breakthrough came with a run to the US Open semi-finals last year. In New York, the Londoner was the outsider, whereas now he is the big name to be shot at, and both Cilic and Alexander Bublik at the French Open produced inspired performances to upset him. 'I've got to expect that now,' he said. 'Obviously I've got a bit of a target on my back with my ranking. 'Are they playing that well because I'm dropping the ball short, I'm not doing enough with the ball? That's what good players do, they punish you.'
Leader Live
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Wimbledon exit shows Jack Draper has ‘still got a lot of areas to improve'
The British number one is still yet to make it beyond the last 64 at his home grand slam and, having come into the tournament as the fourth seed after a brilliant season so far, the 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 defeat was his most painful yet. Great credit must go to 36-year-old former finalist Cilic, who, having disappeared from view amid two knee operations, produced a sublime performance on Court One. But Draper was unable to find the tennis he needed to put his Croatian opponent under consistent pressure, and spoke afterwards about how difficult he finds grass. 'Very frustrated,' said the 23-year-old. 'Obviously, really upset. Probably one of the toughest losses I feel. I thought Cilic played an incredible match from start to finish. Didn't let up. He deserved the win. But it hurts a lot. 'I've been really disappointed with the way my game's been on the grass this year, in all honesty. 'I felt great on the hard, felt great on the clay. My game, I felt like there wasn't many holes, whereas, as soon as I came on to the grass, I felt a big difference. Upset alert 🚨 Croatia's Marin Cilic stuns Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to knock the No.4 seed out of The Championships 2025 😮#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2025 'Even though I've had such an amazing progression the last 12 months, I've still got a lot of areas that I need to improve in my game. In some ways that's exciting, and in some ways that's hard to deal with because I thought I was ahead of where I was.' Draper put his head in his hands when he was asked whether the pressure of home expectation had contributed to the loss. Citing Andy Murray, he said: 'It makes me think that Andy's achievement of what he did winning here twice, just unbelievable. It's not the pressure, it's not the whatever. I just didn't play good enough today. I lost to a better player.' Cilic lost to Roger Federer in the 2017 final, three years after winning his only grand slam title at the US Open, and is a proven performer on grass having won the Queen's crown twice. He returned to the top 100 by winning the second-tier Challenger event in Nottingham last month and it was clear from the first moments of the contest that his ranking of 83 gave little indication of the danger he would pose. Cilic, who was watched by his two young sons, showed he has not lost the metronomic quality of his flat, deep ground strokes, and Draper just could not find any semblance of control. Cilic, competing at Wimbledon for the first time in four years, played an incredible returning game to clinch the opening set, and it was clear Draper was in big trouble when the Croatian made it five games in a row. It was not until Draper really let rip early in the third set that he gave himself and the crowd hope of mounting a first successful comeback from two sets to love down. But he could not force the break early in the fourth set and, the longer the match went on, the more it appeared there was only one winner. Draper, meanwhile, became the first player to really question the accuracy of the electronic line calling, which has replaced line judges, after reacting with disbelief to a couple of decisions. 'I don't think it's 100 per cent accurate,' he said. 'I think it's a shame, tradition, that the umpires aren't involved.' The 23-year-old admitted he will probably stay away from the All England Club for the rest of the tournament, but he hopes Emma Raducanu can help make it a successful championships for the home nation nevertheless. 'Emma is playing great,' said Draper. 'I watched her play yesterday. That was amazing. She has a real opportunity. I hope she goes on and does us all proud. She's definitely got the capability to do that.'
South Wales Guardian
17 hours ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Wimbledon exit shows Jack Draper has ‘still got a lot of areas to improve'
The British number one is still yet to make it beyond the last 64 at his home grand slam and, having come into the tournament as the fourth seed after a brilliant season so far, the 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 defeat was his most painful yet. Great credit must go to 36-year-old former finalist Cilic, who, having disappeared from view amid two knee operations, produced a sublime performance on Court One. But Draper was unable to find the tennis he needed to put his Croatian opponent under consistent pressure, and spoke afterwards about how difficult he finds grass. 'Very frustrated,' said the 23-year-old. 'Obviously, really upset. Probably one of the toughest losses I feel. I thought Cilic played an incredible match from start to finish. Didn't let up. He deserved the win. But it hurts a lot. 'I've been really disappointed with the way my game's been on the grass this year, in all honesty. 'I felt great on the hard, felt great on the clay. My game, I felt like there wasn't many holes, whereas, as soon as I came on to the grass, I felt a big difference. Upset alert 🚨 Croatia's Marin Cilic stuns Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to knock the No.4 seed out of The Championships 2025 😮#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2025 'Even though I've had such an amazing progression the last 12 months, I've still got a lot of areas that I need to improve in my game. In some ways that's exciting, and in some ways that's hard to deal with because I thought I was ahead of where I was.' Draper put his head in his hands when he was asked whether the pressure of home expectation had contributed to the loss. Citing Andy Murray, he said: 'It makes me think that Andy's achievement of what he did winning here twice, just unbelievable. It's not the pressure, it's not the whatever. I just didn't play good enough today. I lost to a better player.' Cilic lost to Roger Federer in the 2017 final, three years after winning his only grand slam title at the US Open, and is a proven performer on grass having won the Queen's crown twice. He returned to the top 100 by winning the second-tier Challenger event in Nottingham last month and it was clear from the first moments of the contest that his ranking of 83 gave little indication of the danger he would pose. Cilic, who was watched by his two young sons, showed he has not lost the metronomic quality of his flat, deep ground strokes, and Draper just could not find any semblance of control. Cilic, competing at Wimbledon for the first time in four years, played an incredible returning game to clinch the opening set, and it was clear Draper was in big trouble when the Croatian made it five games in a row. It was not until Draper really let rip early in the third set that he gave himself and the crowd hope of mounting a first successful comeback from two sets to love down. But he could not force the break early in the fourth set and, the longer the match went on, the more it appeared there was only one winner. Draper, meanwhile, became the first player to really question the accuracy of the electronic line calling, which has replaced line judges, after reacting with disbelief to a couple of decisions. 'I don't think it's 100 per cent accurate,' he said. 'I think it's a shame, tradition, that the umpires aren't involved.' The 23-year-old admitted he will probably stay away from the All England Club for the rest of the tournament, but he hopes Emma Raducanu can help make it a successful championships for the home nation nevertheless. 'Emma is playing great,' said Draper. 'I watched her play yesterday. That was amazing. She has a real opportunity. I hope she goes on and does us all proud. She's definitely got the capability to do that.'
Rhyl Journal
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Wimbledon exit shows Jack Draper has ‘still got a lot of areas to improve'
The British number one is still yet to make it beyond the last 64 at his home grand slam and, having come into the tournament as the fourth seed after a brilliant season so far, the 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 defeat was his most painful yet. Great credit must go to 36-year-old former finalist Cilic, who, having disappeared from view amid two knee operations, produced a sublime performance on Court One. But Draper was unable to find the tennis he needed to put his Croatian opponent under consistent pressure, and spoke afterwards about how difficult he finds grass. 'Very frustrated,' said the 23-year-old. 'Obviously, really upset. Probably one of the toughest losses I feel. I thought Cilic played an incredible match from start to finish. Didn't let up. He deserved the win. But it hurts a lot. 'I've been really disappointed with the way my game's been on the grass this year, in all honesty. 'I felt great on the hard, felt great on the clay. My game, I felt like there wasn't many holes, whereas, as soon as I came on to the grass, I felt a big difference. Upset alert 🚨 Croatia's Marin Cilic stuns Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to knock the No.4 seed out of The Championships 2025 😮#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2025 'Even though I've had such an amazing progression the last 12 months, I've still got a lot of areas that I need to improve in my game. In some ways that's exciting, and in some ways that's hard to deal with because I thought I was ahead of where I was.' Draper put his head in his hands when he was asked whether the pressure of home expectation had contributed to the loss. Citing Andy Murray, he said: 'It makes me think that Andy's achievement of what he did winning here twice, just unbelievable. It's not the pressure, it's not the whatever. I just didn't play good enough today. I lost to a better player.' Cilic lost to Roger Federer in the 2017 final, three years after winning his only grand slam title at the US Open, and is a proven performer on grass having won the Queen's crown twice. He returned to the top 100 by winning the second-tier Challenger event in Nottingham last month and it was clear from the first moments of the contest that his ranking of 83 gave little indication of the danger he would pose. Cilic, who was watched by his two young sons, showed he has not lost the metronomic quality of his flat, deep ground strokes, and Draper just could not find any semblance of control. Cilic, competing at Wimbledon for the first time in four years, played an incredible returning game to clinch the opening set, and it was clear Draper was in big trouble when the Croatian made it five games in a row. It was not until Draper really let rip early in the third set that he gave himself and the crowd hope of mounting a first successful comeback from two sets to love down. But he could not force the break early in the fourth set and, the longer the match went on, the more it appeared there was only one winner. Draper, meanwhile, became the first player to really question the accuracy of the electronic line calling, which has replaced line judges, after reacting with disbelief to a couple of decisions. 'I don't think it's 100 per cent accurate,' he said. 'I think it's a shame, tradition, that the umpires aren't involved.' The 23-year-old admitted he will probably stay away from the All England Club for the rest of the tournament, but he hopes Emma Raducanu can help make it a successful championships for the home nation nevertheless. 'Emma is playing great,' said Draper. 'I watched her play yesterday. That was amazing. She has a real opportunity. I hope she goes on and does us all proud. She's definitely got the capability to do that.'
