4 Brit men, 0 wins but... £108,000 IN PRIZE-MONEY
FOUR down, two to go. On a miserable day for British men not called Murray, a defeated quartet beat quick retreats from the All England Club with £108,000 between them.
That was the reward for firstround failure for James Ward, Daniel Cox, Kyle Edmund and Daniel Evans, all wildcards and £27,000 richer to a man. Only Daniel Smethurst still has a chance to join Andy Murray in the second round, but first the world No 234 must today face John Isner, an American l ocated 223 places higher up the ladder.
One hugely unlikely result would change the perception, of course, but it wouldn’t address the annual question of whether these British men get more than they deserve.
The point was underlined by the four winning only two sets between them, albeit there must be some mitigation for the quality of opposition, with Cox, ranked 214, taking a set off world No 42 Jeremy Chardy in losing 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
Evans’ result was particularly disappointing, the 24-year-old losing 6-1, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 to Andrey Kuznetsov, the world No 118 from Russia, while James Ward, the British No 3, was crushed 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 by Mikhail Youzhny, the 17th seed.
Ward, 27, who has now lost four of five first-round matches here, said the £27,000 prize money — up £3,500 on last year — was likely the difference between having a career and not, saying: ‘If you have a coach or a trainer around you, obviously it becomes expensive to travel the world. But, it’s a mas- sive help. I’m very grateful for the help I’ve always received from the All England Club and the LTA. Without that I wouldn’t be able to carry on playing probably.’
Evans, the British No 2, appeared close to tears as he explained his defeat, but remains hopeful of ultimately cracking the top 100, having indicated several years that he would leave the game by now if he failed to so.
He said: ‘If I was knocking 280, that sort of ranking, I wouldn’t carry on. But I’m beating some good players along the way. I’ve got a decent chance (of top 100) still.
Edmund, coached by Greg Rusedski, lost 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 against Austria’s Andreas Haider-Maurer, and said: ‘British players are not highly r anked which means everyone we’re going to play, the opponent is expected to win. So that’s why you see some early first-round exits.’