King falls short

The comeback kid didn’t have another of those rallies left.

Darian King’s latest Houdini act fell just short, as Barbados’ best tennis player couldn’t pull off another great escape in Wednesday’s heart-breaking first-round exit in the US Open qualifiers.

Eyeing a great come from behind victory while trailing 5-1 in the third set, rain briefly stalled King’s comeback bid before Gerald Melzer eventually steadied himself for a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory on Court 8.

It was a depressing defeat to say the least for the 26-year-old Bajan ace, who was looking to repeat last year’s magic when he made a storybook run to his first ever main draw appearance at a grand slam.

But there was no fairytale ending this time, as an inconsolable King sat in his player’s chair unmoved several minutes after the completion of the match. (JM)