British wildcard Liam Broady, ranked number 181 in the world, today came from two sets down to defeat Marinko Matosevic 5-7 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-3 on his Grand Slam debut.

Broady was the first Briton in action today on day one of Wimbledon 2015, facing the Australian Matosevic on Court 18 for a place in round two.

The 21-year-old British wild card has a favourable draw in his senior debut at SW19, and is looking to make his mark after a very promising junior career during which he won Wimbledon's doubles title in 2010 and finished as a runner-up in the singles the following year.

Matosevic takes two set lead

Whilst his career has really tailed off in recent years, with him dropping out of the top 100 despite breaking the top 40 in 2013, Matosevic would present a tough test for Broady, as shown in the first game as the Aussie saw the first break point of the match in a matter of minutes. His experience then put him ahead early on as he broke on first opportunity, his young opponent perhaps letting his nerves get to him in his first ever Wimbledon game.

The second game showed that was going to be a very close encounter though, with Broady playing a delicious lob and a wonderfully accurate shot down the line to trouble his opponent, despite him going on to take a 2-0 lead. His promise and creativity was evident from the off, and would be a running theme in the match.

Broady would not take long to use this to break back either, playing an incredible shot down the line to earn his first opportunity to do so, and he did exactly this, dominating a rally with Matosevic by pushing him further and further back before eventually forcing an error out of his opponent to put the first set back on serve at 2-2.

A lucky net cord then gave Broady two break points with the score at 3-2 in his favour, as his opponent's serve and volley tactics became all too predictable. The Aussie was lacking any sort of variety in his play, which allowed the Brit to effectively anticipate shots well in advance as he enjoyed a marvellous spell in the first set.

Still, Matosevic managed to defend the break points and keep the match on serve, the Brit's second opportunity thwarted by his opponent actually staying back on his first serve, as opposed to going for the volley, for once.

Both remained comfortable on serve as the first set progressed, that was until the scores reached 5-5 and Matosevic earned himself three break points as Broady made some unusual errors given how well he had played thus far. The Aussie took his opportunity and was somewhow now serving for the first set.

An enthralling game saw Matosevic save three break points and Broady save a set point, before the Aussie eventually took the first set with a wicked ace that arrived at a perfect time in an uncomfortable service game.

Broady certainly did not deserve to lose the first set, having been the better player throughout, but his inability to take his chances, largely due to inexperience, cost him in the end, whilst Matosevic was able to play well when he had good opportunities, despite being sloppy and out-played elsewhere.

The Brit was easily dealing with his opponent's predictable tactics, returning well to prevent the serve and volley and hitting some lovely passing shots to stop Matosevic winning points at the net. If the Aussie did not mix things up soon, it seemed unlikely that he would win the match, with Broady beginning to find it too easy to predict his next move.

Still, his experience was helping him keep up with the creative Broady, and allowed him to take the lead.

Matosevic has struggled in grand slams.

More missed chances came early in the second set as Broady failed to take either of the two break points he saw in Matosevic's first service game of the set. This theme ran throughout the set as Matosevic took an opportunity to break late on, taking a 5-4 lead and serving for the set.

Broady had again been more lively and played better than the Aussie, but the latter was playing well when it mattered whilst the Brit failed to keep his composure on the big points. Matosevic was pushed close as he served out the set, but he pulled through to take a two set lead with an hour and 19 minutes played, giving Broady a huge mountain to climb.

Broady's comeback begins

A mental affect on the young Brit was certainly expected, and when Matosevic took him to deuce and saw a break point in the first game on the third set, this was evident. However, he showed his battling character to overcome these setbacks and take the first game.

The belief Broady gained from this was then clear in the following game as he out-played Matosevic on the Aussie's serve and was able to break to take a 2-0 lead in the third set. The roar from the player and the crowd suggested that the Brit was entering a spell of dominance in the game, and he would need to capitalise on this one this time, having seen fruitful periods end with nothing to show for in the first two sets.

His resilience continued as he saved four break points in a tricky service game to take a 4-1 lead, before his dominance eventually led to him serving for the set at 5-3. His first set point resulted in a double fault as he showed his nerves, whilst Matosevic showed great power to push his opponent towards the back of the court and take the game to deuce.

Broady took the advantage though and would take his third set point with a lovely serve and volley routine, pulling a set back and telling Matosevic that he was not down and out.

The fourth set started well for Broady too, with him seeing two break points in Matosevic's second service game. It seemed he had broken on the first when the line judge called the Aussie's shot as out, but he challenged and found the call to be incorrect. A shot into the net by Broady saw him waste the second chance too as the game went to deuce.

The Brit's 20th backhand winner of the day set up his third break point of the game, and then a spectacular passing shot as Matosevic approached the net allowed him to break and take a 2-1 lead in the set, the Aussie's serve and volley failing to have an impact once again.

Broady kept his composure and remained on top, comfortably holding his serve whilst posing questions of Matosevic on his. Silly errors from the Aussie gave his opponent three break points with the scores at 4-2 to the Brit, and another poor shot gave Broady the double break lead he was searching for.

The 21-year-old was now serving for the fourth set, looking to get the match back on level terms at two sets a piece. Another backhand winner saw him take his first set point and complete the comeback. Broady had brilliantly fought back from two sets down, and was now one set away from the second round at Wimbledon.

Matosevic had simply hit the self-destruct button in that fourth set, but one has to credit Broady for remaining focused and not letting this affect him or see him get complacent. Yet, with the Aussie's unpredictable match so far, one could not rule out a magnificent fifth set from him now and the Brit had to keep his concentration to ensure he was ready to fight this if it was the case.

The decider

Despite a slightly sloppy opening service game, Matosevic saw two break points in Broady's first of the set and the Brit handed him a 2-0 lead with a poor double fault. Still, the 29-year-old was extremely casual with his shots and was making a lot of unforced errors - including one that allowed Broady to immediately break back in the following game.

It was the serve and volley again which had cost him, with his backhand volley lacking convinction and falling into the net to put the set back on serve.

He continued to be second best thoughout the set, and Broady would take advantage midway through, breaking to take a 4-3 lead as we surpassed the four hour mark on the clock, an error from Matosevic again handing him it, though the Brit's marvellous play had put him under the pressure that forced him into it.

Liam's sister, Naomi, watched on as she prepares for her own first round match.

Broady held his serve to make it 5-3, with Matosevic now serving to stay in the match and the tournament. He had trouble just doing this, with the Brit executing a delicious lob on his way to his first match point, before the Aussie got it back to deuce and had a game point of his own saved by Broady.

The 21-year-old had another opportunity to take the match without having to worry about serving it out when Matosevic committed another error on the volley, and he showed his confidence as the chance arrived by working the crowd as his opponent readied his serve.

The Aussie simply could not resist Broady's resilience any longer and gave way on the Brit's second match point, losing the fifth set 6-3 after he missed the line by some way to bring to an end a match in which he had simply self-destructed.

Having taken a two set lead, his final three sets were appalling, whilst Broady was magnificent, showing composure beyond his years and experience he simply does not have. In his first ever Grand Slam match, and his first ever five set match, the man ranked 181st in the world came from two sets down to progress to the second round of Wimbledon in front of his home crowd.

Matosevic's over-use of the serve and volley tactic was his downfall, whilst the lack of conviction and accuracy in his shots was also a massive contributor to his defeat. However, the character Broady showed to fight back simply over-powered him in the end, with the crowd getting behind the Brit marvellously to help drive him to victory.

Broady will play David Goffin of Belgium, the 16th seed this year, in round two, who earlier defeated Horacio Zeballos in three sets, winning 7-6 6-1 6-1.

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About the author
Amee Ruszkai
Head of the Sunderland, Swansea City and women football sections at VAVEL UK. Email: [email protected]