Jodie Burrage's big concern after first Wimbledon win? Finding a dog walker
When British No 2 Jodie Burrage recorded her first ever win at Wimbledon on Monday, one of her first concerns was not about her game or even her next opponent. It was finding someone to walk her dog.
On a mixed day of results for the Brits, Burrage put on an impressive performance on Court 3, thrashing American Caty McNally 6-1, 6-3 in what was her first ever main draw win at any major tournament.
But before she could celebrate, she needed her black Labrador Otto taken care of. He is not allowed on site - only working dogs can enter the All England Club grounds - so Burrage called in a favour with her friends to see to him instead, so that she could continue lapping up the atmosphere at the All England Club with her proud family.
“We’ve actually just had that conversation with two of my friends that live on the same road as us,” an elated Burrage, 24, told reporters of her doggie day care plans after her match. “They’re going to go back now and actually get Otto so I can see a few people here. It’s a shame he can’t come.
“I’ve had a great support network here. I’ve had so many people here that I know. It was really good to get a win in front of them, as well. Adds a little bit of pressure when people come and watch. When you get the win, everything goes well, it feels really, really good.”
Burrage’s win means she is likely to break into the world top 100 for the first time after this tournament, but will first look forward to a second round match against world No 11 Daria Kasatkina on Wednesday, when she hopes she might be scheduled on a show court.
“I can’t wait,” Burrage said. “If I get put on one of those courts, I’d be very, very happy. I’d enjoy every single minute of it. She made finals last week in Eastbourne. It’s going to be a very tough match. But I’ll go out there, give my all, fight like I always do, and see what happens.”
While Katie Swan and Harriet Dart both had disappointing first-round exits on Monday, Burrage’s win was one of three for home talents. World No 164 Jan Choinski, who switched from representing Germany to Great Britain in 2018, capped off his main draw debut with a win over Serbia’s Dušan Lajović, winning 5-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the dying light.
Choinski’s British heritage stems from his Southampton-born mother, a former professional ballerina, who was in the stands to witness her son’s greatest career moment.
The victory was all the sweeter as this time last year, instead of playing at Wimbledon, he was at one of his lowest points: “I was struggling with mononucleosis and Covid on top of that. My ranking was dropping to a point where I nearly didn’t have any points. I think end of August I started the whole journey from 650 on the rankings to where I am right now.” He will play 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz next.
Meanwhile, British No 5 Liam Broady recorded his first ever straight sets win at Wimbledon, beating France’s Constant Lestienne 6-1, 6-3, 7-5. It set up a blockbuster showdown with world No 4 Casper Ruud on Wednesday, where Broady is likely to be scheduled on one of the show courts.
Afterwards the Manchester City fan said a good luck message from the Treble winners helped motivate him to get the win. “It was cool. It was about 20 or 30 minutes before I went on today,” he said. “They tweeted me. I thought, Oh, God, I’m not going to tweet them now before the match, I want to try and get a win, then I can reply.
“They’re amazing. They’re always so supportive of me. I can remember playing here at the age of 17 and buzzing off them tweeting me. It’s still the same to this day. I absolutely love it. I’m grateful they keep a track of my career the way I keep a track of the football club. I find the football fascinating, especially obviously, I can say it now, Man City are the best team in the world. It’s not up for debate anymore, is it?”
British No 2 Dan Evans has a mountain to climb on Tuesday, after his match was suspended overnight due to poor light, as he trailed by two sets.
