Britain will be represented by seven players in the second round of the men’s and women’s singles for the first time since 2006. But Paul Jubb will not be among them after the 19-year-old, given a Wimbledon wildcard after winning the top honour in US college tennis, lost to the world number 69 João Sousa in four sets on Tuesday.
Jubb attracted a great deal of attention in the build-up to the championships having, in May, become the first Briton to lift the men’s singles title of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which includes John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors among former winners, but also because of his compelling and tragic backstory.
However, there was to be no fairytale debut to match that of Cori “Coco” Gauff’s stunning victory over seven-times singles Grand Slam winner, Venus Williams. After a nervy first set in which Jubb was bagelled, raising fears that it would be a walkover for the Portuguese former world number 28, the teenager made his more experienced opponent work for his victory, grabbing the third set, before eventually succumbing 0-6, 3-6, 7-5, 1-6.
Despite the efforts of the Lawn Tennis Association, the sport has struggled to shed its elitist image in the UK. The body has been accused by the likes of Jamie Murray of having failed to build on the legacy of his brother Andy’s success.
Jubb’s achievements are even more impressive given the adversity he has suffered. His father Sean, a former soldier, took his own life in January 2000 when Jubb was just a year old and his mother Jacinta died in hospital in 2008.
He was raised by his grandmother from the age of four and was introduced to racket sports when he played swingball in her garden on a Hull council estate.
Jubb, ranked 579 in the world, may not even have the consolation of the £45,000 which goes to first round losers because, as a student at the University of South Carolina, he remains an amateur.
Despite the defeat Jubb was keen to take away positives, including the fact that his gran and other members of the family got to see him play at Wimbledon, although they had to leave midway to take a train back to Hull.
He said: “I definitely feel like I belong at this level, definitely can win at this level. Now it’s just obviously tough to jump from one level to the other straightaway. It’s not going to happen straightaway … the more I play at this level, the more I’ll be able to manage the matches.
“Once you give these guys an inch, it’s not easy to get back in. There’s very little margin at this level ... There’s some positives to take from this match, for sure. Just got to learn, that’s the most important thing, get better.”
The British winners on day two of the championships were led by Johanna Konta, Britain’s biggest hope in the singles in the absence of Andy Murray.
Commenting on the fact that seven British players are through to the second round, she said: “I think that’s great. I think there’s every reason for us to be able to do that. I mean, we’ve got such great players. Yeah, that’s really a good position for us.”
Jay Clarke from Derby, who like Jubb is from a working-class background, also made it to the second round, having come close on his debut appearance last year losing in five sets to the former top 10 player Ernests Gulbis. Clarke’s reward is a second round match with eight-times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who won in four sets on Tuesday after surprisingly losing the first set to South African Lloyd Harris.
He said: “It’s going to be a good match. Obviously I’ve watched a lot of him growing up, so it’s not like there’s going to be any surprises on what he does. For me, yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”
The others who went through were Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart, who was watched by the Duchess of Cambridge, despite being out on court 14.
They followed Heather Watson and Kyle Edmund, who both won on the opening day, into the second round. However, there was disappointment for Katie Swan and James Ward, with the latter letting slip a two sets lead to lose to Nikoloz Basilashvili.
