Preston tennis ace Ella McDonald serves up a victory in Wimbledon opener

​Preston’s McDonald, who trains at the LTA’s National Academy in Stirling, is the 11th seed in the draw this year and impressed against Spain’s Martina Genis Salas on Saturday night.

The 17-year-old looked in full control on her way to a 6-3 6-2 win, and was pleased to get off to such a strong start ahead of a second round contest against Rebecca Munk Mortensen.

“I’m feeling really good just to get the first win in the home tournament,” she said. “I was a little nervous at the start, but I’m very happy with the support and it was good to get through it.

“I’m just happy that I fought through it really, played some really good points, especially from the net - that’s one of my strong points. It was good to finish on the serve as well - that felt quite strong today.

“I’ll be working on just a few little things probably, probably a bit of everything really to make sure everything’s feeling confident ahead of the next round.”

The past 12 months have been hugely significant for McDonald, who received a wildcard into the draw a year ago – where she reached the second round.

And after a year which has seen her rise up the junior rankings – and travel to Australia as part of the Great Britain squad for the United Cup – she is thrilled to be back once again.

She added: “It feels special because last year I was a wildcard and now I’m in by myself. Everyone was really supportive today and it’s really nice to be through at my home tournament.

“I’m trying to keep my expectations the same, just to take one match at a time and try to not put too much pressure on anything. I’m just here to enjoy every match that I play.”

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