Beaten Katie Swan confident British new generation are catching world elite

Katie Swan will leave Wimbledon feeling she is not far away from the world’s top players despite a heavy defeat in the second round.

The 19-year-old produced the performance of the day on Monday from a British perspective to beat Irina-Camelia Begu but found a second Romanian in Mihaela Buzarnescu a different prospect altogether.

Buzarnescu is seeded 29th but is in the top 16 on 2018 results after a remarkable rise, little more than a year after she thought injuries had wrecked her career.

She was ruthless in the first set against Swan, who did not get on the board until the opening game of the second set, and the Romanian eventually came through 6-0 6-3.

Swan later teamed up with Katie Boulter in a first-round doubles loss against 14th seeds Lucie Hradecka and Hsieh Su-wei, with Boulter due to play 18th seed Naomi Osaka in the second round of the singles on Thursday.

Asked what advice she would give her partner, Swan said: “I played a really tough opponent today so it was difficult. It was really nice to be on Court Three and have all the support behind me.

“Katie is playing a great player tomorrow and she’s got no pressure. I’d say just go out and enjoy it and swing freely. At the same time go in with the belief that you can win, because I don’t think we’re too far off these girls even if we don’t win at the moment. We are gaining experience all the time. You never know.”

Swan did not play badly in the opening set and came close to winning several games but Buzarnescu, the highest-ranked opponent the British youngster has ever faced, gave very little away while pinning her opponent in the corners and sending dust from the lines flying on numerous occasions.

Buzarnescu’s level dropped in the second set and, had Swan won another game after fighting back from 1-4 to 3-4, the outcome might have been different.

Bristolian Swan, who received a good luck text message from mentor Andy Murray, said: “I definitely felt nerves going out there, which I think is a good thing, because it meant I really cared. Even after winning my first match, I wanted to keep going in the tournament.

“Unfortunately I didn’t play my best today. But I have to give credit to her because she really didn’t give anything to me, and especially in the first set it was tough, really tough.”

Swan made her Wimbledon debut two years ago before injuries stalled her progress but she has taken a big step forward this season. The first-round victory here will see her break into the top 200.

The teenager believes experience of playing at this level is the key to making further jumps.

She said: “Practising here last week, I was playing every day with top 100, top 50 players, and I haven’t had that for the last year. And I think every day I have improved and every day I’m getting more confidence that I can compete at this level and I have shown it this week.

“Today the scoreline suggests that it was pretty easy, but I did feel that there are some positives to take from the match. I think the biggest thing is the consistency. That’s what I’ll be working on when I go home and start practising.”