1:00pm Thursday 17th June 2010
By John Boyman
JOSH Goodall has his sights set on a long run in the doubles at Wimbledon after failing to make it through to the main singles draw.
The 24-year-old from Basingstoke won his first match in qualifying at Roehampton on Monday, producing a good display to beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas, the 21st seed from Spain, 6-3, 6-3.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas is more than 200 places above Goodall in the world rankings, so the Hampshire man was full of confidence going into the second round on Tuesday, where he took on Russia’s Evgany Kirilov.
Goodall, the world number 349, made a brilliant start, winning the opening set 6-4, and had two break points with the score at 4-4 in the second.
However, he was unable to take either of these and the 22-year-old Russian hit back, breaking himself to take the set 6-4.
Goodall found himself in trouble early on in the third set, with Kirilov, the world number 236, quickly getting two breaks up.
He served for the match on two occasions but was denied by Goodall, who staved off a match point at 5-2 before winning a string of points to level the match.
From there on, the match was a war of attrition, with both men refusing to give up. However, it was Goodall who eventually wilted to go down 10-8 in the final set.
Having been denied a wildcard in the singles, Goodall will now miss out on a place in the main draw for the first time since 2004.
He said: “It’s disappointing not to be playing Wimbledon and it’s not easy to take when you think you have a good chance of qualifying but it was a good match.
“I was playing well in the first set and it was a good match for me because he was hitting the ball hard, which suits my game.
“A lot of people probably thought the match was over when I was a double break down in the final set but one of the things I have been doing well this season is fighting hard. I knew if I could get one break back he would be a bit nervous and could get tight.”
Goodall may not be playing the singles but he will be in doubles action at Wimbledon, partnering Jamie Delgado.
The pair got a wildcard to play and the Basingstoke man is looking forward to it.
“I think we have a chance to go quite a long way in the competition,” he said. “I have done well in |doubles throughout my career and Jamie is an experienced player.”
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