Despite an extremely tight opening set, 16th seed David Goffin eventually found his feet in a tough encounter with Britain's Liam Broady, winning the match 7-6 6-1 6-1 to make it into round three.
Following his marvellous five set win over Australia's Marinko Matosevic on Monday, British wildcard Broady was back in action today against world number 15 Goffin.
Broady has certainly got a good draw, and with Australian qualifier John Millman knocking out 19th seed Tommy Robredo in straight sets, it's really opened up for him. The Brit now has a serious chance of making it to the last 16.
Goffin is certainly not the toughest seeded opponent Broady could face either, the Belgian having only ever made it as far as the third round at Wimbledon, whilst he has been eliminated in round one for the last two years before breaking that poor run on Monday with a straight sets win over Argentina's Horacio Zeballos.
Round three is his best finish at any Grand Slam, with his run to the quarter-finals at the Rome Masters this year a career highlight, alongside Austrian Open and Moselle Open titles last year.
Still, Goffin is a seeded for a reason. Currently sitting at a career high ranking of 15th in the world, the 24-year-old has a bright future ahead of him but needs to make his mark in a Grand Slam soon. He will have looked at today as an opportunity to do so and will have had expectations of getting to at least the last 16 when seeing the draw, and especially now with no other seeds in his way until then.
Tight early stages
It was important for Broady to get off to a good start today, with Matosevic having broken him immediately on Monday before going on to take a two set lead. He did this though, winning his first service game with the help of some strong shots right to the back of the court and an especially exquisite drop shot.
However, Goffin was strong on serve, comfortably winning his games early on with few problems posed by Broady. The Belgian was solid from the off, approaching the match in a professional manner and being consistently good throughout, albeit without really shining.
It was the Brit who provided the brightest moments and most memorable shots, with some lovely net play in Goffin's fourth service game showcasing the variety he can bring to the court, as well as pleasing the crowd as a couple of well-placed volleys helped him win the point.
A lucky net cord followed by dominant play during a rally gave Goffin the best chance either player had seen up to this point of breaking as he forced Broady's fourth service game into deuce, before getting an actual break point after the second deuce. Broady saw him off though, eventually winning the tricky game after an error from the Belgian as the first set remained on serve at 4-4.
Goffin held serve well in the following game, forcing Broady to serve to stay in the set. The Brit was pushed hard in doing so though, saving a break point before winning the longest rally of the match to take advantage on deuce himself. A strong forehand after a good second serve won him the game, with the set now tied at 5-5 to the delight of the number three court.
A comfortable love service game from Broady then took the set to a tiebreak, with the two unable to be separated thus far.
The first mini-break went to Goffin, and it was quickly followed by a second as the Belgian took a 3-0 lead. Broady cut the double mini-break in half to make it 3-1, but a good first serve and some agile play from his opponent allowed him to re-establish that breathing space at 5-1.
Set points soon followed for the Belgian, four to be exact, and although Broady saved the first with a lovely return, he couldn't do anymore as Goffin defeated the Brit in his first tour level tiebreak 7-3 to take the first set.
Goffins hits his stride
After a very equal 50 minutes or so, Goffin had taken the lead thanks to his superior experience and composure as a result, and it was up to Broady to pick himself up from this, just as he had to do in the first round.
However, Goffin was feeling comfortable now having taken the lead and entered the second set in a confident fashion, breaking Broady immediately before consolidating this lead with a good service game that allowed him to take the score to 2-0 in his favour.
Broady really needed to keep his focus now as Goffin started to enter a very fruitful spell. The Brit needed to be careful not to let the match slip away from him in this time, as another break by the Belgian would surely given him the second set and ultimately victory, with him unlikely to let a two set lead slip as Matosevic did.
However, soon after this, Goffin saw another five break points, but was denied on each occasion by Broady, particularly magically on the second, with the Brit switching things up with a serve and volley routine that saw him remain composed and accurate at the net.
The game went on for around 13 minutes before the Belgian eventually broke after plenty of resilience from his opponent. Broady was doing well in the rallies with Goffin, often coming out on top when the two went toe-to-toe, but the 16th seed's anticipation of play and fantastic decision making was allowing him to breeze through set two, sitting pretty at 4-0 up as the Brit perhaps started to think about letting this one go and focusing on set number three.
Still, he was determined not to be bagelled and earned a break point as Goffin looked to serve out the set, one which he took to add some respectability to the scoreline with a 5-1 lead in his opponent's favour now.
The Belgian would break for the fourth time in the set though in the following game, taking the second set 6-1 in 33 minutes to establish a comfortable two set lead.
However, he would be weary of Broady's first round performance that saw him comeback from the same deficit and would be keen to keep his focus now, unlike Matosevic. On the other hand, the Brit would still be full of belief in the match having already recovered from two sets down this week and would surely take some containing in this third set.
More of the same from Goffin
Yet, whilst a comeback of some sorts was expected from Broady in the third, it was just more professional play from Goffin that followed as he continued to put on a solid performance and breakdown his inexperienced British opponent with ease.
He quickly began to run away with the match, racing into a 5-0 lead in just 17 minutes as Broady looked towards his box asking what he was supposed to do to stop the Belgian.
Goffin simply had the answers to everything Broady was trying. The Brit could not even find points in the match now, never mind a game, as his opponent got his first match point after an hour and 45 minutes.
The fight remained in Broady though, with him battling back to win two points in a row and get the game to deuce, again looking to avoid a bagel. Nonetheless, Goffin was keen to get the match done now, fighting just as hard to wrap things up early instead of having to serve it out himself.
However, Broady forced him to do the latter, getting a game on the board to save some pride in a third set that had simply flown by. Goffin was composed as he confirmed victory though, signing off with a fierce ace and sealing the win with a 7-6 6-1 6-1 scoreline in his favour.
Encouraging signs for Broady
Despite the last two sets today, Broady certainly has a bright future ahead of him. He has shown his wonderful potential in the last few days, making a name for himself in SW19 with that remarkable victory on Monday.
In set one, he demonstrated similar form as he matched the world number 15 for over 50 minutes, with experience simply the difference in that first hour before Goffin's confidence rocketed from this and allowed him to step up a gear or two for the remainder of the match.
The Belgian showed his quality and professionalism is a really consistently solid display and will face either Millman or Marcos Baghdatis in round three, the latter sure to be a tough test if he progresses, with him being in marvellous form in grass and possessing the potential to cause an upset this year.