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Liam Broady
Liam Broady fought back from two sets down to complete a thrilling comeback against Marinko Matosevic on court 18. Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Reuters
Liam Broady fought back from two sets down to complete a thrilling comeback against Marinko Matosevic on court 18. Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Reuters

Britain’s Liam Broady downs Marinko Matosevic in five sets at Wimbledon

This article is more than 8 years old
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With the obvious exception of Andy Murray and the odd win by Laura Robson and Heather Watson over the years, British success on day one at Wimbledon has been a scarce commodity in recent times. Liam Broady’s fabulous comeback from two sets down to beat Australia’s Marinko Matosevic will be a nice cushion to withstand the usual criticism of the host country’s performance in SW19 but for the 21-year-old Broady, it was far, far more important.

The left-hander’s 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win was his first grand slam victory – on his grand slam debut – and the manner of it spoke volumes about the path he has taken to reach this point. No longer in contact with his father, Simon, who disapproved of his return to the LTA fold a few years ago, Broady has had to grow up fast. Four years after he was beaten in the final of the juniors here, and he showed enormous mental resolve to see off Matosevic. Regardless of the fact it was the Australian’s 12th consecutive defeat – which explains his slide down the rankings to 138 – it meant the world to Broady, as his Nadal-like, leaping celebration showed.

Watson may yet record another victory after fighting back to level her match with the No32 seed Caroline Garcia of France. Out-hit in the first set, she bounced back well and had the momentum at 1-6, 6-3 when the players agreed to stop because the light was not good. “I don’t want to play without Hawk-Eye because there have been so many bad calls,” said Watson, who will return to finish the match after the opener on Court 12.

Broady, who sported a thick beard, has played in some of the less salubrious venues on the Tour and had to battle it out on the first rung of the professional ladder to reach this point. There have been many who have questioned his ability, saying he lacks the big weapon needed to really make it big. But his backhand is outstanding and as he showed against Matosevic, he has the heart required to win big matches on big stages. This win should take his ranking from No182 into at least the low 160s and the confidence he will gain from it could mean everything over the months to come.

In 2007, Broady’s father took Liam and his sister, Naomi, who was beaten 7-6, 6-3 by Mariana Duque-Mariño of Colombia later in the day, out of the LTA system, funding them on his own after Naomi was suspended for a photo on a social media website appearing to depict her in a situation where alcohol was present. Broady, from Stockport, said the decision to go back to the LTA after many years away was the correct one. “People would disagree it was always the right decision for me whether I got the results or not,” he said. “I had to kind of grow up and mature as a person, not just a tennis player by sort of doing things on my own, even things like, I’ve said it before, filing your tax, getting your own rackets strung, booking your own flights. It’s all stuff you need to learn and grow up and realise that you’re not living in an enclosed world any more. I’ll always say I think it was the right decision.”

The match was played out on Court 18, the scene of the famous John Isner-Nicolas Mahut epic, and if it was not quite in their league, it was nevertheless Broady’s first five-set match. To come through it against a much more experienced opponent says a lot about his spirit and Leon Smith, the watching Davis Cup captain, must have been impressed.

As he later admitted, Broady might and probably should have won the first set. With Matosevic low on confidence after his terrible recent run, the Briton had break points for 4-3 in the first set that might have set the Australian even further back into a rut but to his credit Matosevic came up with some big points when required and one bad game gave him the break he needed for the set. When Matosevic doubled his lead, surely few people crammed into the court and watching from the top of the broadcast centre above believed Broady could come back.

But an early break in the third gave him belief and as Matosevic wilted, Broady roared back to level. As so often happens when a player comes from two sets down, they have a lapse at the start of the final set and Broady double-faulted to be broken for 2-0. But he broke back immediately and then dominated the rest of the set, clinching victory when Matosevic could only put a forehand volley wide. “At 5-3 in the third set I was thinking: ‘I will remember today for the rest of my life,’” Broady said. “I wanted to make sure I did myself proud.”

He did that in style, and with a match to come against David Goffin, the No6 seed, he will have another chance to show he belongs at this level. “I’ve seen him play in Futures in Belgium when I was about 15 so I think I’ll be comfortable going on court with him. It’s not like I’m going to be stepping on court with Novak Djokovic. He’s obviously a fantastic player but I’ve got nothing to lose.”

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