Leeds rookie Luke Johnson given harsh lesson on Wimbledon debut
He and doubles partner Evan Hoyt were downed 6-4 6-4 7-5 by Mischa Zverev and Nicholas Monroe out on Court 8 in what was a Grand Slam first for the British pair.
But for Leeds native Johnson, it was less about the losing, their steep learning curve instead the most important thing.
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Hide Ad“It was a great experience, I thought we both dealt with it really well,” said the 25-year-old.
“It was both of our first senior main draw match and we dealt with it well, put out a good performance.
“Obviously, we wanted to win the match and it wasn’t to be, but we’ll learn from the lessons and keep going again for next year.”
“They were experienced. At the tighter end of each set they did some good stuff. I think experience isn’t everything - we put some really good games in there and played well - but maybe we could have executed slightly better on a few points here and there.
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Hide Ad“Ultimately, I think we’re pretty happy with the performance, but next time we’re looking to go further.”
Rafael Nadal emerged victorious against Nick Kyrgios but the bad feeling between the two showed no signs of easing after a spicy second-round contest.
The two have been locked in a war of words over the last few weeks, with Kyrgios trading insults with Nadal and his uncle Toni and that threatened to spill out on to Centre Court in the Spaniard’s 6-3 3-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (3) win.
There were the customary underarm serves and constant chatter with the umpire, but there was almost a flashpoint in the third set when Kyrgios thrashed a forehand straight at Nadal and opted not to apologise.
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Hide AdNadal said: “A tough opponent. I said yesterday, when he wants to compete well he is a tough opponent. Against me he wants to try hard.
“I was aware of everything, I was just next to him, so I don’t want to comment. Sometimes it is tough to see these things on court.
“Potentially, he is a grand-slam winner.”
Marcos Baghdatis’s retirement was confirmed by a 6-1 7-6 (4) 6-3 defeat to Matteo Berrettini.