Johannus Monday took plenty of pride from his Wimbledon Qualifying campaign after pushing the experienced Radu Albot all the way in their second round encounter.
Hull’s Monday had been one of the standout performers of the opening round of qualifying on Monday, battling from a set down to beat reigning Junior Wimbledon champion Mili Poljicak.
And he was again involved in a real battle on Roehampton’s new Stadium Court on Wednesday against Albot, the Moldovan a ATP Tour stalwart across the past decade or so.
Monday got off to a strong start but Albot, fifth seed in Roehampton this year, worked his way into the contest and eventually came from a set down to prevail 3-6 7-6(2) 6-2.
Despite some disappointment in defeat, the 21-year-old recognised there was plenty for him to be pleased with after impressing across his two matches.
He said: “I have a lot of mixed emotions. I’m very disappointed – I actually think I had a lot of chances and for the majority of the match I was probably the better player, but he’s very experienced and he knew how to handle those situations better.
“I’m disappointed in that regard but on the other hand I’m very proud of myself. I think I performed very well, and honestly it was a very cool environment to be a part of. It’s disappointing now, but I’m going to look back with very fond memories of these last couple of days.
“He’s obviously a top player, he got to 39th in the world a few years ago, and he’s still winning a lot of matches against a lot of top players right now. I felt that I was the more dominant player on the day, I didn’t take my chances but there were a lot of positives to take away from the match.”
Monday’s Wimbledon journey is not quite over yet, with he and Jacob Fearnley having been handed a main draw wildcard for men’s doubles action at the All England Club.
And across both the coming week and ensuing months, he is ready to continue working hard to ensure he finds himself in these positions more regularly.
“I think my game’s in a good spot but also I’m not content with where it’s at at all,” added Monday.
“I think there’s a lot of things to improve on, which I think is a very good thing. I think I’m playing at a relatively good level but my coach and I see a lot of things we want to work on.
“We’ll have a chat and get to work over the next few days.”
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