A performance to be proud of as Team Bath Tennis pro Toby Samuel goes mighty close to big upset on senior Wimbledon debut
It may have ended in the narrowest of defeats but Team Bath Tennis ace Toby Samuel produced a performance to be proud of on his senior Wimbledon men’s singles debut.
The wildcard went toe to toe with 15th seed and French Open semi-finalist Jakub Mensik during five incredible sets on Court 3, only losing out in a match tie-break as the Czech progressed 5-7 6-3 6-3 3-6 7-6 (10-7).
Samuel, coached by Ian MacDonald and Tiarnan Brady at the University of Bath, was a break up in the fifth set and won just two fewer points than his opponent (159-157) across three-and-a-half hours of high-quality tennis.
A relieved Mensik said: “Toby played some unbelievable tennis. The level that he was performing, he didn’t give me any free points. He did an incredible job.”
Samuel arrived at SW19 with confidence high after beating two players in the World’s top 60 on his way to the ATP Lexus Eastbourne Open semi-finals.
Mensik, ranked 17, was another big step up but Samuel used his sport’s biggest stage to once again showcase the ability, skill and determination which has lifted him more than 1,000 places in the world rankings during the past 12 months to his current career high of 123.
He only lost five points on serve while winning the first set, then showed tremendous resilience to take the fourth after Mensik had turned the game around.
The fifth set proved to be a rollercoaster as Samuel broke to lead 3-1, then lost four games in a row before breaking Mensik to love when the Czech was serving for the match. The drama continued in the decisive tie-break, with both players producing mini breaks before Mensik finally edged clear.
It was a second successive Grand Slam experience at the end of a positive grass court season for Samuel, who will now turn his attention to the American hard-court circuit as he targets a place at the US Open.
Samuel is part of the Pro Tennis programme at Team Bath, which provides support to players both while training at the University of Bath – a UK Sport-accredited Elite Training Centre – and while competing domestically and internationally. Find out more in this video:
Visit teambath.com/tennis to find out more about the all-encompassing tennis programme at the University of Bath.
Top photo courtesy of Ali Durden/BBC Points West.
