Hives, ranked 572 in the world, was no match for the powerhouse Greek star, who proved too strong in the 6-1 6-4 win.

However, Hives will take solace from the fact that she worked her way through qualifying with two convincing wins, making it into just her second main draw of a grand slam event.

After a nervous start, Hives rallied in the second set, playing her best tennis after calling for an injury time-out to get her left thigh strapped, including twice breaking the powerful Sakkari's serve.

The 25-year-old will also pocket around $90,000 for the experience, her biggest prizemoney haul since she made the second round of the Australian Open in 2019.

The prizemoney will go a long way to helping her tour around the world as she continues her comeback from a debilitating illness which saw her off the circuit for two years.

Despite her world ranking, her two years on the sidelines meant that she entered Wimbledon qualifying with a protected ranking of 142.

With Russian and Belarusian players banned from this year's tournament, it has been decided that no ranking points will be awarded for this year's tournament, meaning Hives will need to rely on her protected ranking a little longer to earn qualification into events.

However, her recent form should hopefully allow her to receive some wildcard entries over coming months.

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