Anne-other one bites the dust

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:35

The British number one missed a set point at 5-3 and it was downhill from there.

The 22-year-old Mayr won seven games in a row before later breaking again to take the match.

Keothavong got off to the perfect start by breaking Mayr’s serve in the opening game. The 25-year-old’s extra power was evident straight away but her Austrian opponent, ranked 29 places below the Briton at number 80 in the world, was a willing runner.

Mayr levelled things up immediately but Keothavong claimed a third successive break to move 2-1 ahead.

After a run of games with serve, Keothavong created a set point in the ninth game but could not take it. And she found herself in trouble serving for the set when she slipped to 15-40, and this time it was Mayr who found the power when she needed it.

More break points came and went in the next game for the British number one, who has reached the second round on two previous occasions, and Mayr made her pay by clinching the set.

Keothavong’s bad run continued into the second set as Wimbledon debutante Mayr clinched an early break to take her run of games to seven.

The Londoner’s frustration at letting the first set slip away was clear as her groundstrokes began to find the net more frequently than the lines.

She at last halted the slide by holding in the fourth game but could make no impression on Mayr’s serve and it was the Austrian who broke through again to seal victory.

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