Gabriella Taylor’s dreams of playing at this year’s Wimbledon are over.
The 19-year old from Southampton was given something of a tennis lesson yesterday by the vastly more experienced Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium in the Wimbledon qualifying event at Roehampton, losing 6-0 6-2 in a match lasting just 52 minutes.
Currently ranked 98 in the world and a previous top 50 player, Van Uytvanck can count herself hugely unfortunate not to have made the Wimbledon ladies’ singles cut automatically.
As a result, she is seeded second in qualifying which traditionally takes place the week before Wimbledon fortnight.
Likewise, with a world ranking of 283 and relatively little experience on the main tour - having only stepped up from the juniors last year - Taylor can also count herself unfortunate to have drawn Van Uytvanck in the first round.
Despite telling the Southern Daily Echo on Monday that she would “just go for it out there,” in reality Taylor was given very little opportunity to do so.
Van Uytvanck dominated from the start, playing the kind of attacking tennis which took her to the quarter-finals of the French Open two years ago.
Yes, Taylor will be disappointed particularly by the slow start she made, together with the number of enforced errors. Yet even at her very best she would have been hard pushed to overcome Van Uytvanck who now proceeds to the second round.
Those taking part in qualifying must win three matches in order to bag one of the 12 remaining main draw places available at Wimbledon.
Taylor has kept a low profile during the run-up to Wimbledon after the events of 2016 when she was taken seriously ill while competing in the girls’ junior singles event, her only interview so far this year having been with the Echo.
Forced to withdraw from her quarter-final tie with what at first appeared to be food poisoning, Taylor ended up in intensive care battling a mystery virus amid rumours that she had been poisoned deliberately.
A six-month investigation by the Metropolitan Police found no evidence of foul play.
Taylor’s match against Van Uytvanck was originally scheduled to take place on Tuesday but was put back a day due to heavy rain in the London area.
Together with her support team, Taylor will reassess her schedule over the coming fortnight.
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