Taylor out at last gasp in Nottingham

British No 5 Gabriella Taylor, pictured, pushed defending champion Donna Vekic all the way before losing their first round match at the Nottingham Open.

Taylor, who scored a stunning win over fellow Briton Heather Watson at Surbiton last week, almost repeated the feat as she grabbed an early break in the deciding set.

But Vekic, who required extensive physio on a back injury early in the third, dug deep to come through 7-5 5-7 7-6 (7/3).

Watson had bounced back from her shock defeat to Taylor to move into the second round with a convincing 6-1 6-3 win over American world number 252 Danielle Lao.