Astra Sharma has missed out on a glorious chance to win her first match at Wimbledon after receiving a late call to play as a 'lucky loser'.
Perth's Sharma, who had been knocked out in the third round of qualifying last Friday, was given a second chance on Wednesday when Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko withdrew from the tournament.
But though the world No.127 looked for long periods of her first-round match against experienced Czech Kristyna Pliskova as if she would cash in on this golden opportunity, she ended up losing again 3-6 6-4 6-4.
After dominating the opening set with her aggressive groundstrokes, she looked to be heading to victory in the second set when 4-2 up, only for the left-hander Pliskova, twin sister of luminary Karolina, to reel off the next four games.
Again, Sharma, who had made a major breakthrough in April by winning the first WTA tournament of her career in Charleston, regrouped to move into another 4-2 lead in the decider, but Pliskova showed all her experience to take command with the winning line approaching.
Sharma appeared to get a little tight while the Czech only grew stronger, powering to victory after one hour 40 minutes with a break to love in the final game.
