Samantha Murray certainly has the right surname for success at Wimbledon but you need bit more than that and a racquet to beat Maria Sharapova.
The British number five, in only her second appearance at the All England Club, was never likely to progress against the former champion. Just six months separate them in age but the gulf in their experience was brutally exposed on the All England Club’s Number One court. They play the same sport but they live in very different worlds.
However, Murray gave her opponent more of a match than the 6-1, 6-0 scoreline suggests and will feel good about booming four aces past her experienced rival.
Murray will bank £27,000 for her first round exit and claims the experience will only motivate her as she returns to the hard grind of the tennis tour and bids to inch her current 242 ranking upwards.
“It’s a big help for the rest of the year,” she added. “It lets you travel more and it’s not so much strain in deciding where to play.
“The money definitely helps in being able to build a schedule that’s right for your tennis rather than having to worry financially.”
British number one Heather Watson overcame a sleepless night to effortlessly progress to second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic but British men’s number five Daniel Smethurst also lost – meaning defending champion Andy Murray is now the only home men’s player left in the draw.
However, on his Wimbledon and Grand Slam debut, Smethurst gave a good account of himself, going down 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to number nine seed John Isner.
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