Wimbledon beckons for Jodie Burrage as Ilkley Trophy bid ends at final hurdle

The Ilkley crowd were treated to two three-set epics on singles finals day where Belgian qualifier Zizou Bergs shocked former world No 8 Jack Sock to take the men’s title and win a Wimbledon main draw wildcard.

In the women’s final London’s Burrage, ranked 216 in the world, faced world No 98 and the tournament’s top seed in Dalma Galfi, 23, from Hungary.

Things got off to a difficult start for Burrage who went a break of serve down early but after a couple of good backhands got her into the next game from 0-40 down she put away an overhead to get back on serve.

Breaks of serve were exchanged again, Burrage drawing level with a fantastic backhand down the line to set up break point before drawing a miss from Galfi.

However, Galfi again managed to break serve with much of the damage done by Burrage hitting three errors to lose the set 7-5.

Set two played out in similar fashion but this time it was Burrage who edged ahead after forcing a couple of misses from Galfi until a bad volley miss on break point in the next game saw the match level again.

A couple of backhand passing shots as Galfi attacked saw Burrage lead again, and she finished the set with an ace to win 6-4.

Momentum swung back to the top seed who broke early in the final set, but the Hungarian needed treatment after a slip and Burrage showed great touch with the drop volley to break back.

A couple of misses gave Galfi the break at 5-3 and the top 100 player served out confidently to take a 7-5 4-6 6-3 victory and the title.

After defeat in the biggest final of her career, Burrage said: “It was a pretty carnage final. I think we had a bit of everything in there.

“I loved every minute of it, honestly, it was the biggest final I’ve ever played. There was some good level of tennis played. I don’t think I played my best stuff today, didn’t serve great which is a tad annoying.

“But I can’t really complain with the week I’ve had, I’ve just really enjoyed it here in Ilkley.

“I’m actually playing tomorrow in Eastbourne, so that’s going to be a long drive down. I can’t complain about the grass season that I’ve been having.

“The last three weeks have been really good for me. I’ve won matches at every tournament I’ve played and I just want to keep building on from here.

“I found out about the wildcard this week which was exciting and I’m glad I’ve managed myself this week considering I’ve got Wimbledon coming up.

“It’s a big thing but I’ve had to put it to the back of my mind for now and just focus on this week. Obviously I’ve done a pretty good job of it.”

The day started with the men’s final which pitted American Sock, 29, who has won the Wimbledon men’s doubles twice, against 207-ranked 23-year-old Bergs.

Both players dominated with their serves in the first set until Bergs broke from 0-40 down to move one game away from the first set.

Sock broke back immediately in the next game to send the set to a tiebreak which Bergs won 9-7 after saving three set points.

Sock, currently ranked 129 in the world, came out swinging after taking a knee injury following a slip in the second set and took control to win 6-2.

The third set headed to a tiebreak with one break of serve each way and Bergs saved a match point before converting the first of his own for a 7-6 (9-7) 2-6 7-6 (8-6) win.

After the two-hour 43 minutes epic, Bergs said: “It was incredible. I’ve never had to cry for good news before, that’s the first time ever.

“The guy from the federation confirmed the wildcard during the match. At that point it was like all the work and all the dreams had come together and finally gave me the reward to play the main draw of a grand slam.

“Especially at Wimbledon, in such a historic event, it’s just incredible. It’s been about five years since I played on grass. When I played in juniors I had a really bad experience, I didn’t win one match. So to be able to deliver such a level here for me it has been incredible.”