McDonald and Xu cherish Wimbledon memories after doubles defeat
The Preston tennis ace, 19, had grabbed her first Grand Slam victory earlier in the week but alongside Xu, 17, was unable to battle past 16th seeds Caroline Dolehide and Sofia Kenin on Saturday afternoon.
The all-British duo went down 6-2 6-3 in front of a supportive Court 12 crowd to dash their hopes of a fairytale run in SW19.
McDonald was cheered on by watching friends and family and will never forget the experience of stepping out on court at her home Grand Slam after joining forces with Xu at the eleventh hour.
'We played a bit of juniors together – it was a bit of a last minute call but I'm very grateful to be able to step on the court with Mimi,' she said.
'My family came down today so it was nice to have that support.
'Every match you don't win you come off thinking you can do a lot better – but they probably too the racket out of our hands today.
'We still tried to enjoy it and keep doing what we're doing.
'I'm back on hard court now – I'll have a few days of recovery and then get back to it.'
McDonald and Xu, who has now turned her attention to the junior draw, beat Rebecca Sramkova and Linda Noskova last week to secure their maiden Grand Slam victory.
The dynamic duo were forced to battle over three sets but held their nerve in the decider to triumph 6-4 6-7(1) 6-3 on the All England Club's Court 10.
They fought valiantly two days later but were unable to emulate those victorious exploits as their higher-ranked American opponents booked their place in the third round.
'Ultimately they were just better than us,' said Xu, who won her first junior match on Sunday.
'They did the basics better, were stronger on serve and returning and were just the better players.
'We got our first Grand Slam win at our home Slam and that's an amazing feeling in itself – I don't think I could have done this with anyone else.
'We get on really well on and off the court so it's been really good.'
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