Wimbledon wildcard Alastair Gray bows out in round two to American Taylor Fritz… but the world No 288 walks away from SW19 with £78,000 in prize money (more than TREBLE his singles winnings so far this year!)
- Taylor Fritz, Wimbledon’s 11th seed, defeated Alastair Gray in the second round
- The Briton, who is ranked 288 in the world, had chances but failed to covert any
- He held a 5-2 lead in the second set but couldn’t seal it and it went to a tie-break
- Fritz clinched the second set with a diving volley while Gray turned to celebrate
- Gray broke early in the third, only to see his forehand wane as Fritz sealed victory
- WIMBLEDON 2022 LIVE: Follow all the action as it happens across day four
In the end it was a day of opportunities missed for Alastair Gray.
The 24-year-old walked out onto Court 12 with little expectation against 11th seeded American Taylor Fritz.
But when he found himself up a break at 5-2 in the second set, a real moment flashed across the racket of the British wildcard and world No 228.
In the end experience told, as it often does at Grand Slam level.
British wildcard Alastair Gray saw his maiden Grand Slam ended by Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon
The world No 14 means business and proved it as he weathered a second set storm on Court 12
Gray’s forehand waned and his nervousness took hold, which is understandable for someone making their Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon.
This will still sting, though. A straight sets 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 loss to Fritz, bringing to an end a memorable few days which has seen him pocket a cool £78,000 in prize money, more than treble what he has earned from singles so far in 2022.
When the dust settles he will look back to that service game up 5-3 in the second set when a double fault handed a precious break point to a rattled Fritz.
From there the American took control, taking care of his serve to force a tiebreak, which he sealed with a diving volley at the net with Gray already celebrating what he thought was a winner.
Gray had opportunities with nine break points but he only took two and he lost control late on
Fritz showed his experience to assume control of the match as he marches into round three
Gray, a cryptocurrency investor who is preparing to become flatmates with fellow British player Ryan Peniston, took a break to start the final set, only for Fritz to raise his game and show the gulf in class come the finish.
This was a match on break points, and those not taken by Gray.
Of the nine he set up, just two he took and that proved costly as Fritz progresses to round three.
British talents are dropping out quickly from the SW19 championships, with Gray adding to the disappointment of Wednesday night when Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu both got knocked out.
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