KEIGHLEY’S Jonny O’Mara was still smiling despite defeat in his maiden Wimbledon mixed doubles match cutting his Championships short.

The 24-year-old was partnered with fellow Brit Naomi Broady but was unable to avoid a first-round defeat to Chinese-Dutch pair Yang Zhaoxuan and Matwe Middelkoop 6-7 3-6.

And O’Mara won’t be hanging around to watch the rest of the tournament either. With the hard-court season fast approaching, he has other things on his mind.

“It was a lot of fun out there and we started on fire - Naomi is such a good and fun player to play with so it was great out there,” said the former University of Stirling student.

"My partner had done it all before, but it was actually my first taste of mixed-doubles action, so I didn’t really know what to expect but I thought they played really well, and I was still able to enjoy it even though we lost.

“I will sort myself out and then be off - it is not a great feeling to be hanging around a tennis tournament when you are not in it anymore.

“I have got the Word Team Tennis coming up next where I won't be playing for rankings or anything, so it will be nice just to get away from the tour for a little bit actually and then prepare for the hard-court season.”

O’Mara returned for his third year at the Championships but admitted that it can be hard for British players to enjoy themselves on court sometimes due to the added pressure.

A first round exit is nothing to boast about but the Keighley man has still found himself handing out tips to those with less experience this year.

“I think it is difficult for a lot of the Brits to play at Wimbledon and have fun with it because there is so much pressure on them to do well but at the same time it is what we all play tennis for,” he added.

“If you are Andy or Jamie Murray you thrive on that sort of stuff but for the mere mortals like the rest of us it is a difficult thing to do.

“This year I felt like I enjoyed it more than I ever had, and I actually said to a few of the guys that are here for the first time this year, ‘just try and enjoy it because it is why we are all here.”