By Kylie MacLellan
LONDON, June 23 - British number one Anne
Keothavong broke down in tears after losing at Wimbledon on
Tuesday when asked if she had let people down on a day that saw
six local players knocked out of the tournament.
In her ninth visit to the All England Club, 25-year-old
Keothavong -- who has never got beyond the second round -- lost
7-5 6-2 to Austrian Patricia Mayr, despite being ranked 29
places above the Wimbledon newcomer.
"I feel like I've let myself down more than anything...
Wimbledon is such a special tournament to me," said Keothavong.
"This year, especially, I just felt... I've overcome so much
just to get where I am," she added, choking back tears and
turning her head away before halting the news conference to
leave the room for a few minutes and regain her composure.
Earlier, fellow Briton Katie O'Brien lost 6-2 5-7 6-4 to
Czech Iveta Benescova, while Georgie Stoop went out 7-6 4-6 6-4
to Russian Vera Zvonareva.
"You can't guarantee the results at the end of the day,"
said Keothavong. "But I think you can definitely guarantee that
all the British girls have tried, you know, 110 percent."
ONLY FEMALE
Elena Baltacha bucked the trend, beating Alona Bondarenko of
Ukraine in three sets in fading light to secure her place as the
only British female left in the competition.
"I knew I was the last one going on," she told reporters. "I
was the last hope and I'm chuffed I managed to pull it out of
the bag."
It was a similar story amongst the British men.
Alex Bogdanovic -- who has gone out in the first round at
Wimbledon as a wild card on each of his eight appearances --
lost in straight sets to world number 20 Tomas Berdych.
Fellow wild card Daniel Evans soon followed, going out 6-2
6-3 6-3 to 12th seed Nikolay Davydenko.
British number two Josh Goodall put up more of a fight,
battling against Michael Llodra for three hours and 14 minutes
before losing 4-6 7-6 6-4 3-6 6-4 to the Frenchman.
After defeats for James Ward, Melanie South, and schoolgirl
Laura Robson on Monday, Andy Murray is the only other player
left flying the flag for Britain, securing his place in the
second round with a 7-5 6-7 6-3 6-4 win over Robert Kendrick.
"It's disappointing," the world number three told reporters
when asked about the poor performance of the British players.
"The depth needs to get way better. It's not acceptable.
"Regardless of whether there are ten Brits in or just one,
I'm still going to just take care of my own business and not
worry about what's going on with the other players," he added.
(Editing by Ken Ferris
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