Marin Cilic said his kids were the reason he kept playing after causing a huge shock at Wimbledon. The world No. 83 stunned Britain’s fourth seed Jack Draper 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 to return to the third round here after a long battle with injuries.
Now aged 36, Cilic has reached the top of the game – peaking at No. 3 in the world, winning the US Open in 2014, and reaching the Wimbledon final eight years ago. But he dropped outside the top 700 in the rankings last year after undergoing surgery, and has now credited his family for keeping him going.
Twelve months after he sat at home, recovering from a knee operation, Cilic earned his biggest win in three years as he broke British hearts and sent Draper packing in the second round.
The former world No. 3 hit 53 winners to end the campaign of Britain’s biggest hope at this year’s Wimbledon, then reflected on his long journey back to the biggest stage in tennis.
“The emotions are just incredible, there I was two years ago, I can’t even describe. It’s been a long journey, I never lost any doubt,” Cilic told the Court 1 crowd.
“Obviously it was long and testing, a huge challenge for me in this part of my career to come back to play this kind of level in front of this crowd, against Jack, it’s just incredible so thanks everyone for great sportsmanship.”
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