Jack Draper shunned by Wimbledon as British No.1 overlooked by organisers

Wimbledon organisers have denied Jack Draper a place on Centre Court this Thursday despite the fact he will be up against a Grand Slam champion. Draper is set to face 2014 US Open winner Marin Cilic in the second round after thrashing Sebastian Baez in his opener.

The British No. 1 demolished Baez and was storming towards a straight-sets victory by the time his outgunned opponent retired with an injury. That match was assigned to Court 1, and although Draper will fight Cilic to make it beyond the second round of his home Grand Slam tournament for the first time, Wimbledon chiefs have kept him on Court 1 in Thursday's order of play.

Adding further clout to the argument for Draper to play on Centre Court is the fact his opponent, Cilic, was himself a Wimbledon finalist in 2017. Those in charge of the schedule have put Jannik Sinner on Centre for the last match of the day, with Draper and Cilic rounding things off on the All England Club's second-string court.

The schedule will come as a welcome boost for Sinner's opponent, Aleksandar Vukic, who will take to Wimbledon's grandest stage despite never having been ranked higher than 48th in the world.

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Cilic is now well outside the top 50, but the 6ft 6in veteran is still a popular figure with an impressive CV. And Draper, as the fourth seed, is Britain's best hope of a deep run at this year's tournament.

The 23-year-old is projected to meet a host of top-quality players if he makes it to the later rounds. A tie with Novak Djokovic could be in store for the quarter-finals, and then top seed Sinner in the semis.

Either of those clashes would be guaranteed to make the Centre Court threshold, but Draper will likely be more concerned with the task at hand. He stressed the importance of taking it one game at a time after his win over Baez, with this year the best chance he has ever had of going far at SW19.

"I can't be thinking five matches ahead," he said. "You have to win the matches to get there. I focus on each player as it comes. Each player that's in this draw is in off their own merit and can play incredible tennis. I play point by point and until I deserve a place in the next round, I'm not there yet."