Success was the order of the day for British women in the second round of Wimbledon qualifying.
The spotlight was on 15-year-old Hannah Klugman, who managed to shake off a second-set bagel against 28th seed Linda Fruhvirtová to prevail 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, whilst there were also wins for fellow Britons Amarni Banks and Sonay Kartal.
Klugman said she was speechless immediately after her win and even after a couple of hours later, she still couldn’t contemplate what she has achieved.
She added: “I’m still in shock but completely proud of myself to get through it.
“I played some great tennis when I needed to so I am really happy with it.”
Klugman talked about the special support she got from the crowd which she said was an advantage particularly after losing the second set to love.
She said: “It makes you want to win for them as well as myself, they gave me energy to push through the third set so I loved it.”
Klugman, ranked 623 in the world, competed in the junior tournament at Wimbledon last year and won the prestigious Orange Bowl tournament in Florida in December.
Now she will face American Alycia Parks for a spot in the main-draw.
Bolton’s Banks, 21 overcame American 26th seed Kayla Day 7-6 (6), 6-3 whereas Kartal survived a rollercoaster against China’s Wei Sijia 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
Banks said: “Before the match, I was really excited and that continued throughout the whole match.
“I’m lucky that I can search my opponents online but at this level, everyone is a good player.
“I will try and rest and recover and try and do the same thing tomorrow.”
All three of Klugman, Banks and Kartal acknowledged the support of the crowd with Kartal saying that they gave her a massive boost after losing the second set of her match.
Kartal added: “To have the crowd in your corner when you are feeling down on yourself they can really pick you up and get over the line.
“It wasn’t my best match tennis-wise so I had to find a different way to win and I think mentally that was what got me over the line.”
Elsewhere in the women’s tournament, there were wins for Americans Katie Volymets and Amanda Anisimova who came from a set and 4-0 down to knock out fourth seed Hailey Baptiste.
In the men’s draw, there was disappointment for Britons George Loffhagen and Jay Clarke who were defeated by South Africa’s Lloyd Harris and France’s Quentin Halys respectively.
Other winners on the men’s side included two time Wimbledon semi-finalist Richard Gasquet, his compatriot the top seed in qualifying, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Belgium’s David Goffin.
Mpetshi Perricard, 20 who won his first ATP Tour Title in Lyon said: “When I was in juniors, my serve did everything as I was huge but in the senior game, you are playing with men who don’t fear you – you are nothing.
“You have to have a good weapon which means that I have to develop my game and improve as a player.”
The final round of qualifying takes place on Thursday 27th of June.
Featured Image Credit: William Robinson
