BRITISH STAR STILL IN LINE FOR HEFTY WIMBLEDON PAYDAY DESPITE FAILING TO WIN SINGLE GAME

Lily Miyazaki suffered every tennis player’s worst nightmare at Wimbledon when she was ‘double-bageled’ in the second round by Daria Kasatkina.

Miyazaki reached the second round with a stunning win over Tamara Korpatsch, but her Wimbledon campaign fell apart in dramatic fashion on Thursday. The British No.4 always knew she faced a tough test against the No.14 seed, yet still would have hoped for a better performance.

The world No.148 lost 6-0 6-0 on Court 18, lasting just 50 minutes and winning just 19 points in total against her Russian opponent. Kasatkina who won the Eastbourne title last week and looked in supreme form, showing no mercy against the home hopeful.

She will play Spaniard Paola Badosa in the third round after breezing through by winning 53 points and making just seven unforced errors to Miyazaki’s 31. Miyazaki also produced five double-faults on a day she will want to forget.

Yet despite slipping to a heavy defeat, there is one huge silver lining for the 28-year-old: a £93,000 payday. Prize money has risen at Wimbledon for 2024, meaning those who were knocked out in the first round still bagged £60,000. For winning her match against Korpatsch, Miyazaki upped her winnings by £33,000.

She will undoubtedly be upset not to have progressed to the third round in SW19, where the prize money ups again to £143,000, but it is still an impressive achievement for the Japan-born star. Her winning at Wimbledon will add to the $578,291 (£453,403) she has earned across her career.

Speaking about Kasatkina after her first-round win, Miyazaki said: “I've never played her before, but I've definitely watched her play in the past. Yeah, I think, I mean, she won Eastbourne last week, so she's on good form. It will be good to see where my game's at.

“Yeah, I mean, if the opportunity is there for a big court, to play on a big court, it would be amazing. But, I mean, any court here is so special.”

Miyazaki was the first British player to be knocked out on day four of Wimbledon, but there are many more Brits yet to play on Thursday. British No.1 Katie Boulter faces Harriet Dart on Court 1, while Jacob Fearnley has the monumental task of playing Novak Djokovic first on Centre Court.

Later on, attention will turn to Andy Murray, who plays alongside his brother Jamie against the Australian pairing of John Peers and Rinky Hijikata. The Murray brothers are last on Centre Court and become the first opening-round doubles match to be given the honour of playing on the showcourt since 1995.

2024-07-04T12:32:08Z dg43tfdfdgfd