Battling trio demonstrate best of British before finally bowing out
This was a decent day for the British contingent – but it could have been even better as two of our most promising young prospects, Jay Clarke and Gabriella Taylor, went down to defeat in the deciding set.
In the early afternoon, a large crowd had gathered on the roof of the broadcast centre, because the view took in both Clarke on Court No 18 and Taylor on Court No 14. Short of being in Moscow, this was the best vantage point in British sport. Unfortunately, neither player could convert when the finish line seemed to be in sight.
Clarke used his fitness and foot speed to mount a strong challenge against Ernests Gulbis, the former French Open semi-finalist who fought his way through qualifying. Gulbis was tetchy throughout and showed little grace when ordering the ball-kids around, but he used his experience to close out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 victory.
“The fact I was obviously that close, didn’t quite get it, hurts a lot,” said Clarke, who can nevertheless take encouragement from a match that represented his debut in the main draw of a grand-slam.
Taylor’s opponent, Genie Bouchard, is another qualifier who is looking to rekindle former glories, having played in the final here in 2014. Bouchard set off playing almost flawless tennis, then allowed her level to dip before regrouping towards the end of her 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory. “I saw a lot of Canadian flags [and] I got mobbed after the match, pretty much,” said Bouchard afterwards. “But it’s a mob of love, so I liked it.”
Earlier, Naomi Broady had faced the daunting challenge of playing Garbine Muguruza, the defending champion, in the day’s opening match on Centre Court.
Broady, whose brother Liam had been dispatched by Milos Raonic on Monday, made a nervous start as she dropped her first service game, but showed off the best elements of her unorthodox style in the later stages of her 6-2, 7-5 defeat.
Her disappointment will be tempered by the £39,000 prize money on offer to a first-round loser, which almost matches her winnings from the rest of the 2018 season put together. Afterwards, Broady joked that she should have augmented that total by charging all the friends and family who asked to sit in her player box.
“Obviously, when you’re English and you play at Wimbledon, every man and his dog wants to come and watch,” she said. “And everyone suddenly has an interest in your career for this one week of the year. Or two weeks, if you do well.
“You always have a lot of requests. You try and prioritise close family first, then you go down the list as to who pays most attention throughout the year after that.
“They had the rule this year if they didn’t make it to the tournament in Manchester, they weren’t allowed to Wimbledon. So I will see which rules I keep bringing in each year. Maybe I’ll demand gifts.”