DORSET’S Lucy Shuker missed out on the opportunity to play in her sixth Wimbledon doubles final as she and partner Deide De Groot were beaten by Angelica Bernal and Ksenia Chasteau in straight sets.
The pair had beaten the number one ranked doubles player Aniek Van Koot in the quarterfinal earlier in the week, but fell to a straight sets defeat last night.
The match began well for Shuker and partner De Groot, as they broke their opposition in the very first game of the match.
But Bernal and Chasteau hit straight back with a break of their own to level the first set, before two more breaks of serve, one apiece, had the first set at 2-2 after four games.
The set then went on serve until the eighth game, where Shuker and De Groot were broken again, meaning Bernal and Chasteau were serving for the first set – and they made no mistake to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set saw the Colombian and French pairing break the Brit and Dutch duo in the first game, with the next three games going on serve for Bernal and Chasteau to open up a 3-1 lead.
That lead became more commanding when Shuker and De Groot were broken again to trail 4-1, needing something special to turn the set around.
And the pair delivered – they won three games on the bounce, including two breaks of serve, to haul themselves back onto level terms.
But Shuker and De Groot weren’t able to maintain their momentum and lost the ninth game in the set to love against the serve to hand their opponents the chance to serve for the match.
Again, Bernal and Chasteau made no mistake, although Shuker and De Groot ran them close with three deuces, as the British and Dutch duo were eliminated at the semifinal stage.
This followed Shuker’s elimination from the singles tournament at the first round, beaten by doubles partner De Groot who was in turn knocked out herself in the second round.
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