4:16pm Monday 29th June 2009
NAOMI Cavaday’s Wimbledon campaign came to an end on Thursday as she crashed out of the mixed doubles event at the All England Club, writes Nick Clowes.
The 20-year-old from Chislehurst partnered British number two Josh Goodall in a last-ditched attempt to keep her SW19 adventure alive.
But Cavaday, who lost in the final round of singles qualifying last week, and Goodall were no match for Argentinean duo Lucas Arnold Ker and Gisela Dulko – former champion Maria Sharapova’s conqueror in the singles – and went down 6-2, 6-4.
But the British number six said: “Despite the defeat, I really enjoyed it to be honest.
“It was the first time I have played in mixed doubles but myself and Josh get on really well and it was good because they were pretty experienced.
“Dolko in particular played really well so it was a bit of a tough one but hopefully we’ll get to play some more in the future.”
Cavaday has slowly been working her way up the rankings this year after spending six months away from the tour with glandular fever.
But after pushing her world status back into the top 300 with some impressive displays at the AEGON Trophy in Nottingham and the AEGON Classic in Birmingham, Cavaday has set her sights on qualification for the US Open in August.
She added: “I’ve got nothing to lose for the rest of the year now.
“I’ve got no ranking points to defend for the rest of the year now because of my illness last year so anything I pick up now is a bonus.
“I’ve got a few tournaments coming up now but I’m really looking forward to the US Open.
“Qualifying for that would be really nice.”
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