Wimbledon: Spirits are high under the summer sunshineThe last time Frances Sargeant was at the All England Club was in 1970, and back then she was known as Frances Luff.

The Australian was not in Wimbledon to watch the action either, she was taking part – and now she is ending a 45-year-long wait to return.

Sargeant reached the second round in the ladies’ singles, after receiving a bye in the first round, where she lost 1-6, 2-6 to Kazuko Sawamatsu of Japan.

She also featured in the doubles with partner Adrienne Avis, but the Aussie part failed to get beyond the first round, going down 7-9, 3-6.

Sargeant also competed in the 1970 French Open, as well as taking on the tennis great Billie Jean King in her prime in the 1969 Australian Open, losing 6-1 6-3.

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Wimbledon: Spirits are high under the summer sunshine

But now she is back at Wimbledon with friend Sue Sweeny, both from Port Macquarie on the Gold Coast, to savour the Wimbledon experience as a spectator.

Sargeant said: “This is all about returning to the holy grail of tennis, and it emotional for me to be here.

“We can afford to come now, there was no way before. We left Australia on Saturday, we’ve had a 24-hour journey, we did a bus tour yesterday in the rain and now we’re here in the sunshine.”

She added: “It’s a pilgrimage for me, I had to come back – things have changed so much since then, but it is still a wonderful tournament in the most beautiful of surroundings.”