Jack Draper, who was Great Britain’s best hope of Wimbledon glory, has crashed out of the tournament in the second round.
The No 4 seed was beaten in four sets on Thursday evening by Marin Cilic, who reached the final in 2017.
Draper lost 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6 against the big-serving Croatian to suffer a devastating exit despite being the fourth seed for the tournament.
The Englishman was one of the favourites behind Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.
But it means he has still never made the third round in SW19, despite this being his fourth attempt.
A 36-year-old Cilic was good value for his victory, the world No 83 stunning Draper despite not even taking part in the previous three editions of Wimbledon.
The 2014 US Open winner hit 16 aces and was powerful with his forehand on his way to causing a memorable upset.
After losing the first set, Draper knew he was in trouble when he dropped five games on the spin in the second and eventually found himself two sets down.
Draper has never recovered from two sets down but made a credible stab at it , smashing his opponent 6-1 in the third set to establish hopes of a comeback.
But he was back against the ropes in the fourth was unable to contain his experienced opponent, who won his first match point when Draper sent the ball wide after a nervous rally.
‘The grass highlighted a lot of weaknesses in my game. I just didn’t play good enough and I lost to a better player,’ said Draper.
‘I’m proud of the way I turned it around and found solutions. The match can go very quickly on grass.
‘It makes me think that Andy’s achievement of what he did winning here twice, just unbelievable. Like, it’s not the pressure, it’s not the whatever. I just didn’t play good enough today. I lost to a better player.
‘I wasn’t going out there thinking I was under so much pressure. I don’t know, obviously you guys mention it all the time.
‘It’s just I wasn’t good enough today. That’s the main reason. I just was not able to find the level I wanted. I came up short.’
He also questioned the line calls – he had been particularly worked up at one after a Cilic ace in the fourth set.
‘I don’t think it’s 100 per cent accurate, in all honesty,’ he moaned. ‘A couple of the ones today, it showed, like, a mark on the court. There’s no way the chalk would have showed.
‘I guess it can’t be 100 per cent accurate. It’s millimeters. It’s for both ways. I think it’s a shame, tradition that the umpires aren’t involved. It’s obviously something that makes it easier for the players because we don’t have to worry about line calls.’
Meanwhile, Cilic, who has overcome two knee surgeries in the last couple of years, was ecstatic.
He said: ‘My emotions are just incredible. Where I was two years ago, I can’t even describe. It has been a long journey but I never lost any doubt.
‘It was a long and testing period, plus a huge challenge for me in this part of my career to come back and play at this level. To play in front of this crowd and against Jack [Draper] is incredible, so thanks everyone for your great sportsmanship.
‘It has been a long career for me. I have been really dedicated on training for my whole life and, of course, huge credit to my team and to everyone who is helping me on this journey.
‘I’ve spent the last few weeks in the United Kingdom enjoying myself, playing through some Challengers and winning matches. I’m just feeling great and hoping I can continue to play well.’
