Only two of Britain's 11 representatives in the first round of the singles at Wimbledon made it through to round two - Andy Murray and Elena Baltacha - which Sutcliffe described as "not good enough".

 

He feels the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) should learn from other Olympic sports, where a policy of only funding those who meet their targets brought a bumper medal haul in Beijing last year.

 

Sutcliffe said: "I'm getting tired of the excuses, we need to find a way now to be successful.

 

"If you look at the Olympics last year, look what UK Sport are doing - we put funding in and we have world-class performances.

 

"Those athletes don't get paid if they don't perform, and I think that's one of the key issues we need to look at.

 

"Tennis gets £25 million from Wimbledon, £30 million from AEGON [as part of a five-year sponsorship deal] and £27 million from Sport England, public money that goes into grassroots."

 

Alex Bogdanovic has become the flag-bearer for British failure, with eight defeats from eight wild card appearances at the All England Club.

 

The LTA have now decided not to recommend Bogdanovic for a wild card next year even if he is ranked in the world's top 250.

 

Paul Annacone, the head coach of men's tennis, said: "Boggo knows the clock is ticking fast and, for Wimbledon, it maybe has stopped for him and he's in only on his own merits now.

 

"There comes a time when you think enough is enough and I think Boggo probably realises this is his last opportunity."

 

Annacone also revealed the LTA may stop funding Bogdanovic if he does not make progress during the second half of the year.

 

He said: "His process and progress for the rest of the year will define that."