Jack Draper has advanced through to the second round of Wimbledon after defeating Sebastien Baez.
Draper, the British number one, is flying the British flag at Wimbledon as he attempts to become the first men’s singles winner since Andy Murray in 2016.
The 23-year-old, who recently named tennis’ ‘biggest challenge,’ was beating Baez 6-2 6-2 before the Argentinian player was forced to retire.
Despite this, Draper’s booming array of shots were on full display throughout the match, and they did not go unnoticed by Andy Murray’s former coach.
Leon Smith is impressed by how Jack Draper has adapted his tennis game
Leon Smith, the British Davis Cup captain and Andy Murray’s former coach, spoke about Draper’s game on Wednesday morning’s live coverage from Wimbledon.
When the topic of conversation shifted to Jack Draper, Smith said: “I think what’s been really impressive – look they’ve worked hard on the forehand side. It was always a really solid shot, a little bit more spinny.
“But here he’s flattening through the court and obviously in the hot conditions like yesterday it’s moving so quickly on the surface.
“But the thing that’s impressing me is that he’s adapting now. If you look at his forehand return it’s very compact and that’s allowing him to get in the front foot and looking to be offensive when he can.”
Draper has enjoyed an impressive 2025 season, securing his first ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells while also reaching the Madrid Open final.
These results have seen him climb to number four in the world, only behind Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
While Draper’s forehand is outstanding, another shot arguably takes the top spot amongst the Brit’s arsenal of weapons.
Leon Smith added: “But it’s his serve. I mean his serve, he was hitting 136, 137 (mph), but it’s the movement on his serve. The leftyness is obviously a really good advantage for him and he’s using that extremely well.”
Jack Draper faces former US Open champion Marin Cilic
After overcoming Baez, Draper has been rewarded with a tough second round: 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.
The Croatian player, although past his best, will provide a stern test for Draper. The 36-year-old recently beat a record held by Andy Murray, becoming the oldest grass court Challenger champion after capturing the Nottingham Open title.
Cilic beat Raphael Collignon in his first round match at SW19, serving 16 aces and winning 84 per cent of points on his first serve.
Whoever wins the titanic contest between Draper and Cilic will face either Fabian Marozsan or Jaume Munar, who knocked out ‘dark horse’ Alexander Bublik in the first round.
