James Ward devastated by Olympic Games wild-card blow

James Ward was today coming to terms with the Olympic snub which has taken the shine off his first-round win at Wimbledon.

Despite lobbying from the LTA, Ward came off court from his five-set victory over Spain’s Pablo Andujar to learn he had been denied a wild card by the International Tennis Federation.

So, instead of teaming up with Andy Murray at Wimbledon in August, the 25-year-old Londoner will be representing himself in Canada and the United States.

It was a desperate blow for Ward, ranked 173rd in the world, who displayed extraordinary grit to come back from three games down in the final set to beat a player ranked 137 places above him 4-6, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

His misery was compounded by news that Britain’s Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong, who also had not qualified by ranking for the Olympic singles, were given two of the six available women’s wild cards.

Ward, who tomorrow plays 10th seed Mardy Fish in his first second round match at Wimbledon, said: “Of course it’s disappointing. Every time I have been asked to play Davis Cup I’ve always represented my country proudly, and I’d have done it again.