Anna Brogan expressed huge pride in her Wimbledon campaign after she fell to defeat in the final round of qualifying on Thursday.
Brogan had impressed greatly to reach this stage, playing more matches than most to reach the final round of Wimbledon Qualifying.
The 25-year-old came through the LTA’s Wimbledon Wildcard Playoff to earn her spot in the draw, starting her campaign by beating former junior No.1 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva.
And she then backed that up by beating fifth seed Diana Shnaider, edging out the talented 19-year-old in straight sets to set up a meeting against Bai Zhuoxuan.
World No.191 Zhuoxuan proved too good on the day, with a 6-3 6-0 victory sending her into the main draw at Wimbledon.
But despite defeat, Brogan still revelled in the experiences gained over the past few days.
She said: “I enjoyed the match a lot. I thought I played well, but I came up against a stronger opponent.
“I thought Bai played well, she put me under a lot of pressure into the corners, playing deep and playing fast. I feel happy with how I tried my best.
“She was just playing into the corners. Any opportunity that she had to control the point, she was very fast onto the ball. If my quality wasn’t good enough, she would really make me pay for it.
“I knew Bai was a very strong opponent and I was definitely under pressure today. I was feeling it at times but I enjoyed it and overall I think I did a good job out there.
“I’m very proud, playing here at Wimbledon in the last round of qualifying. There’s so many good players out there, so I feel happy.”
Despite defeat it has undoubtedly been a strong few days for the Glasgow native, who currently sits 370th in the WTA Rankings.
And as the 25-year-old looks to make further inroads up the WTA Rankings, she believes she is heading in the right direction.
“I think I’m improving all the time and I’ve done a nice job this week,” added Brogan. “I’m very satisfied with my work.
“I’ve been trying to play more offensively, trying to play more into the corners, using width more and looking to control the points more, being offensive off the second serve return. That’s what I want to keep bringing to the court.
“There’s some events here in the UK on hard courts, and also in Spain and Portugal. That’s where I will be playing next.”
Also tasting defeat was Brogan’s fellow Brit Billy Harris, who like the Glaswegian was in the final round of qualifying at a Grand Slam for the first time.
Harris was beaten 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4 by Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic on Thursday, with the 28-year-old finding himself unable to penetrate his opponent’s strong serve.
Harris said: “It was a very tough match with his serve. He had a big first and even his second serve, you didn’t know where it was going - it was coming down like most people’s first serve. I didn’t have much rhythm as there weren't many long rallies.
“Second set I managed to keep it tight and take it to the tiebreak, and that was my chance to drag the match out a bit more, try and tire him a bit more. I think if it went to four sets he might have flagged a little bit, but overall his serve was too good today.
“In the rallies, I was starting to win more and more points, and he was missing a few forehands. When it mattered, he served his way out of trouble.
“Three straight sets, he’s beaten me fair and square - he was obviously the better player. I’ve just got to take it on the chin.”
Defeats for both Brogan and Harris mean that there will be 14 British players across the men’s and women’s singles draws at SW19.
Action will be led by Cameron Norrie and two-time champion Andy Murray when play gets underway on Monday, with British No.1 Norrie confirmed as the 12th seed at Wimbledon as he looks to better last year’s run to the semi-final.
Meanwhile, Murray, champion at the All England Club in 2013 and 2016, is unseeded, meaning an early clash against the likes of Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz is a possibility.
Katie Boulter will lead the charge from a British women’s perspective having won her first WTA title in Nottingham earlier this month, and will be joined by the likes of Heather Watson and Katie Swan.
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