Sutton's Alex Slabinsky insists he has nothing to lose as he aims to take a step closer to Wimbledon this afternoon.

The 23-year-old British number eight faces Croatia’s Roko Karanusic for a place in the third qualifying round at the Bank of England Sports Club in Roehampton, and is just one step away from taking on the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

But Slabinsky, who now trains at the National Tennis Centre following a spell at Sutton Tennis Academy, knows he has a mountain to climb to beat the world number 112.

“I want to come out, show a lot of energy and see what I can do,” said Slabinsky.

“I’ve asked a lot of the players what he is like and how he plays but it is going to be a tough match whatever they say.

“He’s a seed and he’s on the brink of the top 100 in the world, so I’m going to have to play my best to beat him anyway.

“If I can come out, play my game how I know I can, than I should be okay.”

Slabinsky warmed up for his singles clash with victory in the men’s doubles qualifiers with fellow Brit Chris Eaton.

The duo, who lost in the first round at Wimbledon last year, provided one of the upsets of the draw, defeating fifth seeds Marco Crugnola and David Marrero 6-4, 6-3 late on Tuesday evening after the match had resumed at 4-4 following a rain stoppage on Monday night.

Slabinsky added: “We started really fast and Chris produced a bit of magic to break them to take the first set.

“We continued in the same spirit for the second set and it was nice to get it out of the way and pick up the win.

“I’m sure they are highly ranked but we are playing some really good tennis and anyone can beat anyone at the moment.”

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