Jay Clarke admits disappointment in Surbiton defeat

Jay Clarke admits his inability to react to his opponent's distinct style of play scuppered his chances at the LTA's Lexus Surbiton Trophy. The Derby ace, who is supported by the LTA's Pro Access Programme, got off to a strong start in the first set against Australian ace Luke Saville but eventually fell to a 6-4 6-0 defeat after a disappointing display in the second. Ad The result means Saville will progress in West London having already beaten Colombia's Nicolas Mejia, while Clarke, 24, will go back to the drawing board.

TennisMurray believes he's still among grass-court elite after opening Surbiton win3 MINUTES AGO Saville responded strongly to Clarke's fast start but the Midlands star was disappointed not to react the same way. «I think he just managed his game better than me — he made those adjustments when he needed to and I think I waited too long to do that,» he said. «I found myself at the 30 a few times very early on and in the second set of my serve.

»A couple of good returns from him and the game is gone very fast, so I need to just keep working on taking my time and trying to make sure the match doesn't run away like that. «Especially on grass, it is very, very hard to get the game back. »I don't want to be giving it away like I did today.

«I am obviously frustrated to not get into the main draw. »Every match is tough — it does not matter the guys ranking. «Yesterday I beat a guy ranked world No.170 and today I lost to a guy ranked 400.