British tennis star Jack Pinnington Jones was knocked out of Wimbledon on day two after just 25 minutes. The 23-year-old was part of a home contingent that endured a torrid first day at the All England Club.
Eleven British players were in action on Monday and 10 of those were consigned to defeats – the most ever in a single day. The only one to escape was Pennington Jones because his tie on the outside courts was suspended due to bad light.
He was made to return on Tuesday afternoon while trailing American No. 28 seed Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 7-6(5), 4-3. And any hopes of making a shock comeback on Court 18 were dashed as he was downed 7-5 in the third set.
Pinnington Jones was handed a wildcard by Wimbledon chiefs after reaching round two here last year, where he lost to eventual quarter-finalist and recent French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli.
Pinnington Jones, ranked No. 145 in the world, avoided being part of Britain’s worst day in the history of Wimbledon. However, there were rays of sunshine for British tennis on Tuesday as Katie Swan because the first home favourite to reach round two when she beat Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-4. And she declared that win the biggest moment of her career.
She said: “I honestly think it’s probably number one today. It was pure relief being able to finish that match, especially being 40-Love up and then being pegged back and saving breakpoint and being able to get over the line. It means so much.
“It’s been a rough few years for me, getting back to a point where I can play a slam again. Yeah, I played Begu here eight years ago, and that was the last time I won a match here. It’s kind of full circle to play her again and win again today. So it means a lot.”
Arthur Ferry later became the first male player through to round two when he came from behind to beat Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 on Court 16.
