Brighton ace Alicia Dudeney makes first round Wimbledon exit on debut

Wimbledon can be an intimidating place to make a grand slam debut. The history of the tennis greats are all around and the sense of occasion as you arrive can overwhelm.

Brighton player Alicia Dudeney was drawn on Court 4 and had her first taste of elite tournament tennis against powerful American Alycia Parks.

Court 4 is a lively and distracting place to play. A low stand is on one side and on the other a few court side benches allow those engaged to stay for a while and watch the action.

The crowds are constantly passing by, champagne corks are popping, cheers and shouts rein in from nearby matches and there was even a man in red chinos with shiny purple loafers... of course there was, this is Wimbledon after all.

It’s a lot to take in for a young player and amid all this, Dudeney - who received a wildcard to the main draw - had to focus and play the most important match of her fledgling career.

The 23-year-old performed well in patches but lost 6-3 6-3 in one-hour and 17-minutes to the aggressive Parks, who is ranked 80th in the world.

Dudeney’s rapid rise

Dudeney has risen rapidly to World No 246 but she did not serve well on her big day and the former University of Florida graduate could not apply enough pressure on Parks to expose her weaknesses. The match ended with a double-fault from the British player - her fourth of the match.

Less than half of her first serves went in and her second serve was often picked off with ease as she won just 34 per cent of points on her second serve. It was a telling combination that simply made it impossible to gain momentum and on top of that, Parks was firing down first serves in excess of 200km.

Dudeney is though a promising player and reached the girls singles quarter-finals 2021 before heading off to Florida to play collegiate tennis and graduate with a degree in business and a minor in economics.

She is also a close friend of fellow British and Brighton player Sonay Kartel, who missed Wimbledon this year due injury. Last year Dudeney was cheering on Kartel as she reached the fourth round at SW19.

Dudeney, the British No 7, deservedly earned a wild card after a strong 12 months on the ITF circuit, but Parks soon established an early lead in the first set.

Dudeney had to wait quarter of an hour to get off the mark with her first game before she did fashion three break points, but Parks moved a set up and looked on course for a rapid conclusion when she moved 4-0 ahead in the second.

Dudeney showed good spirit to break back, but her Wimbledon adventure finished with a double fault on day one. The experience will however be invaluable as the Brighton player continues her rise up the world rankings.

Her disappointment will also be softened slightly by the £80,000 received for a first round exit.

Dart denied by Ostapenko

Elsewhere, Britain’s Harriet Dart failed to capitalise on an unexpected headline slot at Wimbledon as she fell agonisingly short of a stunning comeback against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Following Emma Raducanu’s unfortunate withdrawal on the eve of the Championships, a fiery encounter between two of the tour’s most emotional players was elevated to the opening headline match on Court One.

Dart appeared on course for a swift, first-round exit after losing a one-sided opening set but delighted the home crowd by taking the tie the distance, only to suffer a 6-3 3-6 6-4 defeat.

During an ominous start, the British number five received medical treatment en route to falling 4-0 down, before rallying to win nine of the next 14 games and force a deciding set.

Big-hitting Ostapenko, who triumphed at Roland Garros in 2017, became increasingly exasperated as the momentum shifted.

After both players dropped their opening two service games of set three, the Latvian moved 4-2 ahead before giving a sarcastic thumbs-up to the cheering crowd having immediately surrendered the initiative by being broken to love following one of her 13 double faults across the course of the contest.

Dart duly levelled at 4-4 but was unable to complete the job as Ostapenko ultimately progressed from a topsy-turvy encounter after two hours and 27 minutes of gripping entertainment.