Wimbledon woe for Maxted - but Worthing teen can be proud of efforts

Lui Maxted was disappointed that he could not repay his supporters with a win after being knocked out in the second round of the Wimbledon juniors’ boys’ singles by Brazil’s Pedro Boscardin Dias, writes Jonny Bray.
By Community sport reporter
Published 9th Jul 2021, 12:35 BST
Updated 12th Jul 2021, 09:51 BST
Lui Maxted at Wimbledon / Picture: GettyLui Maxted at Wimbledon / Picture: Getty
Lui Maxted at Wimbledon / Picture: Getty

Maxted is a member of the LTA’s Men’s & Women’s Programme, through which the governing body provides a range of support to players aged 16-21 with potential to progress towards competing in Grand Slams and representing Great Britain in the Davis or Billie Jean King Cup.

The 17-year-old from Worthing was beaten 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 by the Brazilian in a fascinating encounter on Court 3.

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Maxted’s world ranking of 37 was enough to earn him direct entry to the main draw of the boys’ singles at Wimbledon this year where he convincingly defeated Petr Nesterov in straight sets.

Lui Maxted shows his talents at Wimbledon in the boys' singles / Picture: GettyLui Maxted shows his talents at Wimbledon in the boys' singles / Picture: Getty
Lui Maxted shows his talents at Wimbledon in the boys' singles / Picture: Getty

He lost the first set but bounced back in the second where his serve was impressive, and his opponent struggled to handle the Brit’s enthusiasm.

However, his good form was not enough to gain him entry into the round of 16 as his opponent took the third and final set despite Maxted’s valiant resistance.

“I was quite disappointed that I couldn’t win today for them, the crowd was really supportive throughout the whole match, and it makes me want to come back as a pro,” Maxted commented after the defeat.

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“This isn’t even as good as the adult’s, I can only imagine what the adult’s must be like, so it just pushes me a little bit more to make it there.

“I’m very disappointed because I had that chance at break point, but I’ll try to take the positives from this and try to build on it.

“I’ve been getting loads of nice messages, even when I lost just now, so it’s nice to see them all supporting me.

“The whole match was challenging, I felt pretty physically tired by the end, there were quite a lot of long rallies, and he was just more experienced than me at the highest levels, and I think that’s why he pulled through today.

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“In the first set it took me a while to find my forehand, at breakpoint in the third set I was just a bit nervous probably.

“The emotions took control of me, and I just hit the ball into the net, I just try to focus on my service games, I knew that my chance would come at some point.”

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Related topics:Great Britain