
The Wimbledon crowd broke an unwritten rule in their support of British number one Jack Draper during his second-round defeat to Marin Cilic.
Draper, the world number four, was 6-2 6-2 6-1 up on Sebastian Baez when the Argentine retired from their first-round clash at the All England Club.
But Great Britain’s biggest hope at Wimbledon found himself locked in a far tighter battle with 2014 US Open champion Cilic on Court One in the second round.
Big-serving Cilic, 36, took a commanding two-set lead over the Brit in front of a disappointed and partisan home crowd.
During one of Cilic’s service games early in the third set, the match umpire handed the Croatian star a time violation warning as he dawdled over a key serve at 30-40 down.
Cilic is known as one of the slowest players between points on serve, often bouncing the ball up to 15 times before delivering his 140mph bombs.
As the umpire announced the decision, loud cheers and applause erupted around Court One.


BBC commentator Andrew Cotter said: ‘The timer [for players to complete a serve between points] did hit zero, but this is a big moment.’
An unwritten rule at many sporting events is that fans do not cheer the misfortune of a player but some frustrated spectators even ordered Cilic to ‘hurry up’ after the umpire’s intervention.
The umpire was forced to tell the crowd to settle down but more outbursts were heard when Cilic tried to compose himself, leading to another announcement from the umpire.

‘Please guys, please,’ he said. ‘Please, no more.’
The very next point resulted in Cilic being broken for the first time in the match and Draper went on to dominate the third set 6-1.
Some social media users criticised the spectators who cheered Cilic’s time violation but others were supportive of the umpire’s decision.
‘It was about time Marin Cilic got a time violation,’ one wrote. ‘He’s been taking ages to serve.’

It felt as if the momentum was with Draper when he took the third set but Cilic bounced back brilliantly and won the fourth to advance to the third round courtesy of a 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 victory.
Speaking in his on-court interview, Cilic said: ‘My emotions are just incredible.
‘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 UK enjoying myself, playing through some Challengers and winning matches. I’m just feeling great and hoping I can continue to play well.’
Reacting to Cilic’s impressive victory and Draper’s disappointing exit, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said on BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘We are all stunned.
‘We have to absorb that. Jack Draper didn’t do an awful lot wrong but when Marin Cilic is hot he can take the racquet out of your hand. He is a Grand Slam winner and he bludgeoned Draper.’
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