KEIGHLEY’S Jonny O’Mara was remaining firmly upbeat despite his first round Wimbledon exit with mixed doubles partner Beth Grey.

The British pair went down 6-4 6-3 at SW19 against the impressive looking duo of Nicholas Monroe and Renata Voracova on a match that was moved to Court 18.

It was ultimately disappointment for the Keighley ace, who came into the tournament in good form after reaching the last eight AT Eastbourne and having shown previous fine form at Grand Slam level.

O’Mara reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last January and the 26-year-old, who suffered a men’s doubles defeat alongside Hugo Nys on Thursday, said: “It was good fun, and that was the aim for both of us.

“We just wanted to enjoy it, because you don’t get to play mixed doubles that often, and Wimbledon has given us that chance.

“We were in front of fans again, which is great. Court 18 is unreal, it was just a really great experience.

“It is not easy playing with someone you have never played with before, but we got off to a great start but then just lost rhythm a little bit.

“A lot of people were on Murray Mound and we had great support.”

O’Mara and Grey, 25, rallied admirably against Monroe and Voracova but didn’t quite have enough in the tank to battle over the line.

And Merseyside star Grey, who went down against Tereza Martincova and Marketa Vondrousova alongside Emily Webley-Smith in the women’s doubles, added: “I didn’t have long [after her earlier ladies doubles match] to bounce back for this game, but it was good fun.

“We have known each other for years me and Jonny, so that was a really great experience. It is just a shame things didn’t quite go our way.”