Emerson Jones is bidding to become the first Australian to win the girls’ Wimbledon title since Ash Barty was defeated by the same opponent who shattered her dream of winning the home Open in Melbourne.
The 16-year-old Gold Coast player, who has been one of Australia’s most promising young players since former Wimbledon senior champion Barty won the junior title herself in 2011, lost 3-6, 4-6 to number one seed Renata Jamrichova on Sunday.
While Carlos Alcaraz played Novak Djokovic on Centre Court, Jones got her big chance on the neighboring, second-largest Wimbledon stadium, Court No. 1, and enjoyed being the first Australian to reach a final since Barty herself defeated Russian Irina Kromacheva in 2011.
But the result against the world’s best junior Jamrichova was no different from January in the Rod Laver Arena, when the tall, imposing Slovakian left-hander defeated her 6-4, 6-1 in the girls’ showdown at the Australian Open.
“This is the second Grand Slam final I’ve lost to her. But of course I played well, but she was a bit too good, so I can’t really complain,” said Jones, who turned 16 at the start of the championships.
“I made it to the final of the Wimbledon Junior Championships, which is pretty exciting,” added the teenager, still smiling broadly on court next to her conqueror despite her 66-minute defeat.
“Her serve was difficult to handle, but in the second set I felt like I was putting in a little more effort and trying to understand her serves and I felt like I was getting closer to a break.”
In fact, Jones, the daughter of triathlete and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Loretta Harrop and footballer and Grogan Medalist Brad Jones, took an early lead in a hard-fought second set and led 3-1 until Jamrichova began to assert herself again.
“It was a great experience playing on Court One, with a big crowd and everything. The court was a bit worn, some questionable rebounds, but I’ve practiced on some questionable courts at home. This is a great court and the crowd was pretty good.”
“What I’m probably most proud of this week was my effort to stay calm. I felt pretty good mentally all week. Just the way I played made me pretty proud and happy.
“Now I’m going home and preparing for the US Open,” Jones added.
Jones’ heroine Barty had previously competed in a final herself; her comeback in the exciting doubles tournament at the invitation of the “Legends” alongside her best friend Casey Dallacqua ended in a 6:3 and 6:2 defeat against Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters.
Lleyton Hewitt and his partner Kevin Anderson defeated the brilliant Bryan brothers Bob and Mike in the men’s final 6-1, 6-4.
However, there was a last-gasp Australian winner when Mark Woodforde, one half of the old all-conquering ‘Woodies’ team, teamed up with Dominika Cibulkova to beat Barbara Schett and Nenad Zimonjic 6-3, 6-2 in the mixed invitational.