Loveridge squeezed out after beating Irish star

Monday 11th October 2010, 2:29PM BST.

Alice Loveridge at the Commonwealth Games. ALICE LOVERIDGE was yesterday within a whisker of reaching the second round of the women’s singles and a place in the last 32 in Delhi.

The 16-year-old (pictured) led the Nigerian Janet Friday Effium by two sets to love in the best of seven first round clashes and looked good to chalk up a fourth straight singles tournament victory when holding a 10-7 lead in the third.

But the Olympic hopeful could not find that elusive point and, boosted by her escape, Effium hit back to win the next two sets for a 3-2 lead.

Loveridge came back to force a deciding seventh set and led 5-3 at change of ends in the last, but Effium recovered again to progress.