Jaume Munar had never gone beyond the second round at a Grand Slam before. But this time, things looked different. He raced through his second-round match against Fabian Marozsan, leading by two sets and a break. Yet, what should’ve been a straightforward win turned into a test of nerves. Munar needed a staggering 11 match points to finally shut the door, clinching the match 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(9) in a drama-filled tiebreak. His next opponent? None other than Marin Cilic, who came into the match fresh off a major upset over 4th seed Jack Draper. Their third-round battle delivered on the hype—but also gave rise to a bizarre flashpoint.

Munar, chasing his first-ever fourth-round appearance at a major, found himself down a set and a break in the fourth. He had a chance to level the set but couldn’t convert a break point against the big-serving Croat. A couple of points later, Cilic pulled Munar wide into the corner with a heavy shot. Munar responded with a lob and, in the process, collided with a ball boy.

The point ended with Munar’s lob going long, handing Cilic the game. But the Spaniard was more concerned with the on-court collision than the scoreline. After the point, Munar pointed toward the ball boy and approached chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani to register his protest. “He [the ball boy] cannot move? I hit him with the racket and he stays there?” Munar asked.

Lahyani replied, “If he was in his position, there’s nothing I can do.” Still agitated, Munar pressed on: “So if I’m running and I hit him, I hit him and that’s it? And we carry on? That’s it? Not let, nothing? I just destroy him and that’s it? I hit him with the racket [during the last point]!” Thankfully, there wasn’t another collision and neither the player nor the ball boy were injured.

The awkward exchange did little to change the momentum. The ball kid remained on court, tasked with staying out of Munar’s path for just four more games. Cilic closed out the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Marin Cilic has been in especially good form after a long time and the veteran is confident he can go even further.

Marin Cilic vows to go to even “higher levels” after beating Jaume Munar

Marin Cilic has been treading a path few Grand Slam champions of his pedigree ever do. The 2014 US Open winner, with nearly $32 million in career prize money, found himself grinding it out on the Challenger circuit earlier this year, a world far removed from the bright lights of ATP main draws. But that’s what happens when your ranking crashes outside the Top 1000, as it did for Cilic following knee surgery in 2023.

And yet, here he is—back at Wimbledon and showing glimpses of his vintage self. Cilic has looked sharp throughout the tournament, and his next challenge comes in the form of rising Italian Flavio Cobolli. Cobolli has quietly marched into the fourth round without dropping a single set, joining elite company in Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton as the only men left in the draw with perfect scorecards.

“Well, looking objectively, my game is quite good,” Cilic said after his win over Jaume Munar. “I’m feeling good on the court. You know, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I’m working on it day after day and giving myself a chance and playing every match as the best I can.”

The Croatian continued, “You never know what is coming the day after, what’s coming in the next matches. So, you know, just staying humble, doing the best I can, and obviously hoping that I can build up my game to even higher levels.”

Cilic may have taken the long road back, but he’s here now. Can experience outplay youth again in the next round? Follow the Championships in real-time with EssentiallySports’ Live Blog updates.