BASINGSTOKE tennis ace Josh Goodall's hopes of making the singles draw for Wimbledon were dashed on Monday afternoon.
The British number six lost 6-4, 7-6 in straight sets to big serving Australian Samuel Groth in the first round of qualifying at Roehampton.
The Basingstoke-born player, ranked 303 in the world, matched his opponent in the first set, with the first nine games going with serve.
It was in game 10 that it all went wrong as the Aussie, ranked 230 in the world, broke Goodall to love to take the first set 6-4.
The second set again saw Goodall and Groth trade service games. The Basingstoke player saved two break points in game seven as the set went all the way to a tie-break.
The Brit got the upper hand early on in the breaker, taking a 4-1 and 5-2 lead before making it 6-4 to give himself two set points.
It looked like the match was heading for a deciding third set but Groth won the next three points to win the tie-break 8-6 and move into the second qualifying round.
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