JAMES Davidson has vowed to bounce back and return to Wimbledon for a third attempt next year.
The Gerrards Cross player's dream of making the second round for the first time in his life ended last Saturday when he and and his partner Victoria Davies lost in three sets to French pair Natalie Dechy and Julien Boutter.
It was the second year running that Davidson's Wimbledon had finished at the first round stage, following his men's doubles exit, 12 months earlier. But the 27-year-old showed enough to suggest he can return better and stronger next year.
He and Davies gave the French duo a real scare. After being overrun 6-2 in the first set, they dramatically won the second set on the tie break before agonisingly losing 6-4 in the final set.
Davidson said: "We were a little bit unsure of ourselves in the first set but we gave it a real go after that and played some really good tennis which we can take heart from."
He said: "It was disappointing to go out but I was really pleased with the way I played in the last two sets. I've taken a lot of confidence from that. It's good to prove yourself at the top level and I've learned a lot just by being here.
"I had five or six years of not qualifying for Wimbledon but I've been here for the last two years now and I feel I'm moving in the right direction.
"It's stepping stones. I know I've got a couple of good years left in me and I'm determined to be back at Wimbledon next year.
"Playing there re-energises you. It makes you want to do all the hard work again to make sure that you are there next year. I would like to get there in the singles, the doubles and the mixed doubles."
His immediate aim though, is to raise his doubles ranking and to reclaim the National Doubles title he lost to Martin Lee and Maidenhead's Jamie Delgado last year.
He said: "We beat them to win the Nationals in 1999 but lost to them in 2000 and now I want to reach three finals in a row and get that title back."