Jack Draper’s two biggest problem revealed after horrible Wimbledon exit
Jack Draper’s Wimbledon dream is over for another year after his 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 defeat against the veteran Marin Cilic, with the loss revealing a couple of big weak points in his game.
Cilic’s performance was so impressive as he dismantled the No 4 seed on No.1 Court, with the silence echoing around the second biggest court at the All England Club highlighting the mood of shock as the big British hope went out in the second round once again.
The hype around Draper’s appearance this year was justified after he broke into the top four of the ATP Rankings and confirmed he could mix it with the game’s top players.
While the cynics will suggest this defeat was down to Draper’s inability to handle the pressure that has been building up around him ahead of what was being billed as his first big push fot Wimbledon glory, this defeat was more a story of Cilic’s brilliance than Jack’s fragility.
Yet when Draper’s team analyse why he lost this match, the frailty exposed on his backhand side will be at the forefront of their minds.
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His huge frame presents a challenge for the 23-year-old Brit and while his movement has improved dramatically over the course of the last year, grass may not be his best surface.
Draper is clearly at home on hard courts and he proved that by reaching the US Open semi-finals last year, while he also won his first ATP Masters 1000 title on hard courts at Indian Wells in March.
He then produced a better-than-expected run of results on clay courts, including an appearance in the Madrid Open final in May.
On both hard courts and clay, Draper has found a way to make himself nimble enough to get his biggest weapons into play, with his thumping forehand and booming serve having a big impact on those surfaces.
When he sets foot on grass, some of his superpowers are taken away from him as he is not able to set himself as easily on the slick surface.
In addition, his backhand that has improved so dramatically is not as effective on a grass court as his opponents can keep the ball low on that wing and his flat shot is not a reliable or impactful.
Cilic targeted Draper’s backhand throughout the match and in the end, Draper had no answer to the barrage of big serves and powerful ground shots that were coming at him.
“I’ve been really disappointed with the way my game’s been on the grass this year, in all honesty,” admitted Draper after the match.
“I wasn’t feeling too great at Queen’s. I don’t know how I made the semis there and gave myself a chance of making the final. Yeah, highlighted to me this year that I really struggled on the grass, 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 onto the grass, I felt a big difference. So it’s just something that I’ve got to keep in mind, how I’m going to develop my game for the long-term for next year, just to get better as a player.
“For sure, highlighted a lot of weaknesses in my game, especially against a player the way he was playing today, someone who’s as good as him on the grass.”
Draper has improved so much over the last year and he will lick his wounds and come back stronger in the US hard court swing that gets underway next month, but there is no doubt that this defeat against Cilic will sting.
This was a nasty draw for the Brit and while Cilic is a veteran who has struggled with injuries in recent years, he will test anyone if he continues to produce the form he showed against to beat the No 4 seed.
Draper will have at least a decade to try and work out his grass court, but his game is not currently at hus best when he plays on a surface that would appeat to be well suited to the weapons he brings onto court.
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