Team Bath Tennis players Toby Samuel and Alicia Barnett have gained more invaluable Grand Slam experience after competing at Wimbledon 2023.
It was a first-ever Grand Slam for Samuel, who enjoyed a dream senior debut on the world-famous grass courts as he and men’s doubles partner Connor Thompson beat Pedro Cachin (Argentina) and Yannick Hanfmann (Germany) 7-5 6-3 on Thursday.
Weather delays meant they had to wait four days for their second-round match against number five seeds Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico) and Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France), which was played on No 2 Court.
Samuel and Thompson, who both play college tennis at the University of South Carolina, produced some excellent tennis on the big stage before their vastly-experienced opponents eventually came through 6-3 7-6(4).
It was a second Wimbledon for fellow Team Bath Tennis player Barnett but a frustrating one as she suffered two first-round exits in one afternoon on Court 6.
Barnett and partner Olivia Nicholls didn’t begin their ladies doubles campaign until Friday and they faced a last-minute change of opponents due to Veronika Kudermetova’s singles commitments.
They instead faced Brazilian duo Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Lidziya Marozava, who hit the ground running and quickly won the first set 6-0.
Barnett – coached by Ian MacDonald at the Team Bath Sports Training Village – and Nicholls rallied in the second set, earning an early break, but they couldn’t capitalise on it and were beaten 6-0 6-3.
There was more frustration a couple of hours later as Barnett returned to Court 6 with Julian Cash for a mixed doubles first-round match against Croatia’s Nikola Mektic and Bernarda Pera of the United States.
The British duo lost the first set 6-4 but hit back to win the second on a tie-break and went a break up in the third. Mektic and Pera responded immediately, though, and went on to edge a decisive tie-break 10-7 to secure a hard-earned 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(7) victory.
Liam Broady, who is coached by Team Bath Tennis coach David Sammel, produced arguably the biggest shock of the tournament as he beat Norwegian fourth seed Casper Ruud 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 during an incredible second-round match on Centre Court. His run was ended by Denis Shapovalov the following day.
Visit teambath.com/tennis to find out more about how Team Bath Tennis supports professional players on the circuit and youngsters aspiring to reach the top level.
With thanks to Team Bath
