French veteran Santoro loses at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Fabrice Santoro showed flashes of the deft touch that has delighted the Wimbledon crowd for the last 14 years. It wasn't enough, however, to prevent the oldest man in the men's draw from bowing out at the All England Club for the last time.

Santoro saved 10 of 11 break points in the first set but faded to lose 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 Thursday in the second round of his 14th and final Wimbledon tournament.

"I played well at least for the first hour and a quarter," he said. "But he played better. He was stronger and he served very, very well."

The 36-year-old Santoro was playing an Open era record 68th Grand Slam event and 44th consecutive major, but has said he is retiring at the end of the year.

After the match on the new Court 2, he looked back at the many changes that have come to the All England Club since his debut in 1990. The most notable, he said, is that the courts have become slower.

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"Especially on the new court, because the ground is very hard so the court is slow and the bounce is high," he said. "But the facilities are much better. The locker rooms, the restaurant. Now it's an exceptional tournament."

And Santoro isn't done with grass just yet. His next stop will be the tournament in Newport, Rhode Island, where he said the courts fit him a bit better.

"The ball stays much lower there," Santoro said.