Stuart Parker is targeting grass court improvement following an opening round defeat at Wimbledon Qualifying.
Parker was handed a tough opening round contest in Roehampton, with seventh seed James Duckworth his opponent.
World No.109, Australian Duckworth is ranked over 300 spots above No.425 Parker and certainly has a lot more experience at this level, having made 30 main draw appearances at Grand Slams across his career.
But it was the Jersey player who was on top early on, taking the opening set with some high-quality, aggressive tennis.
However Duckworth rallied, and after forcing a decider proved too good in the third set, sealing a 4-6 6-3 6-1 triumph.
“I think I started well, and was playing solid,” said Parker.
“Maybe he wasn’t playing his best at that moment, and I was able to capitalise on that. I played some really good shots and to win the set I played a really good passing shot.
“Then with the second set he started to shorten the points a bit more and I began to feel a bit more uncomfortable. I lost a bit of confidence with my game, and he just stayed level. I started to go down a bit and it was tough after that.
“The second and third set, he started to time it better and return better, he was returning deep and quick. It was tough to get into the rallies. He played well.”
For now Parker will be returning to hard courts, with a string of tournaments coming up across Britain and Europe this summer.
However, improving on grass for next summer is definitely something that is on the forefront of his mind.
He added: “I always struggle with the grass a bit with my rhythm. It plays a bit faster and I prefer longer points, to feel my game a bit more and with the grass you don’t really get that.
“I think I just need to figure out a way to be better on grass, to be able to play all the short points. On hard courts I feel more comfortable, so I just need to figure my game out a bit more on grass.
“Maybe I just need to change a few things up, try and shorten the points a bit more myself. Maybe I need to be the one who’s more aggressive. That’s something I need to try and figure out.”
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
