FLAMING ’ECK! IT WAS A HAIR-RAISING DAY FOR GABRIELLA & CO
IT WAS a case of so near yet so far for British wildcards Gabriella Taylor and Jay Clarke as they both fell in five sets on their Wimbledon debuts. The youngsters went the distance in front of packed crowds on the outside courts but wilted in the searing heat, losing to Eugenie Bouchard and Ernests Gulbis. Taylor, 20, had surprised many on Court 14 when bouncing back from losing the first set 6-0, and had the momentum when she levelled the match. But Bouchard, who was runner-up in 2014 and had come through qualifying, sealed an early break and held on to win 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. Clarke came up just short on Court 18, losing to former world No 10 Gulbis 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 in three hours and 19 minutes. The 19-year-old cut a disconsolate figure, saying: ‘I am not happy at all, to be honest. There will be a lot of positives to take but it’s tough to see them right now.’ Fellow wildcards Naomi Broady and Katy Dunne both suffered straight sets defeats on Centre Court. Broady, 28, put up a good fight in the second set against defending champion and third seed Garbine Muguruza but lost 6-2, 7-5. ‘I’m not happy that I lost, but I’m pleased I was able to find parts of my game that weren’t working from the start,’ she said. Late in the evening, Dunne, 23,
produced some inspired play to bring up two set points in the second set against 12th seed Jelena Ostapenko but eventually went down 6-3, 7-6. Heather Watson also crashed out in the first round, losing 6-4, 7-5 to Belgium’s world No 45 Kirsten Flipkens. The British No 2 fought hard on Court 14 but the experienced Flipkens too her first match point.