There was no repeat of James Ward’s Queen’s Club heroics after the British number two crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon in straight sets.

Enfield-born Ward, a member of Oakleigh Park Tennis Club in neighbouring Barnet, caught the eye of the tennis world by reaching the semi-finals of the AEGON Championships at Queen’s, but lost out to the French 19th seed Michael Llodra 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on court two.

Defeat for Ward yesterday means world number four Andy Murray is Britain’s only remaining hope in the men’s competition.

The 24-year-old’s run to the semi-final of the Wimbledon warm-up event saw him rise to a career-high 176th in the world.

His subsequent defeat in the Eastbourne AEGON International has seen him drop down to 192nd.

The right-hander struggled from the start, losing his first service game to leave him with an uphill struggle to contend with in the first set.

Llodra’s powerful serve was too hot to handle for Ward, who lost the first set through an ace and was unable to seize the initiative in the second-set tie-break.

He was broken again early in the third set as his French opponent saw out the match to progress into round two.

Ward held a 4-2 lead in the tie-breaker and cited losing the advantage at this point as crucial in his defeat.

“If I had won that set, you never know what might have happened. The momentum might have changed.”

He continued: “My serve let me down a little bit, especially in the third set. I still had chances though.

“I still had a lot of break points out there and a lot of chances but he came up with the goods at the right time.”

Ward will now compete in the men’s doubles alongside fellow first-round victim Dan Cox.