Tennis: Walker so close to shock in Juniors

Jul 1 2009 The Journal

ALEX Walker came close to pulling off one of the shocks of this year’s Junior Wimbledon yesterday in her second round singles clash against the girls’ number 10 seed Camila Silva of Chile.

Despite being up against a player 268 places above her in the world rankings, the 16-year-old from Ryton battled all the way before finally succumbing 6-4 7-6 (8/6) in stifling conditions at the All England Club.

Walker’s never-say-die attitude won her new fans around Court 14, who cheered the Northumbrian Tennis Academy graduate on throughout a tense second set tie-break.

At one stage she held a set-point to level the scores which would have taken the match into a deciding third. The rally that followed ended with a Walker volley clipping the net chord before falling agonisingly back onto her side of the court.

“I’m disappointed because although it was close I didn’t really feel that I played my best tennis,” said Walker.

“On that set point I hit a really good serve, came in and missed a volley which clipped the net. I thought it had gone over as well. But I am pleased with the way I hung in there having gone 3-1 down in the second set.”

Walker’s next objective is to pick up as many ranking points as possible over the coming months in order to achieve a place in the top 100, with a tournament in the Australian city of Darwin next on her agenda.

“When you get into the higher rankings you start getting automatic entry into the top tournaments like Wimbledon rather than having to rely on wildcards,” she said.

“I’ve got to get myself up there because I’ve proved over the past couple of weeks that I can live with the better players. It’s not just a dream any more.”

Laura Robson continued her push for a second successive Wimbledon junior title with a trouble-free win over Australia’s Sally Peers.

The second seed, who beat Thailand’s Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in last year’s final, used her powerful serve to claim a 6-3 6-2 result on Court Two.

Robson had to fight off two break points in the opening game.