Ah Wimbledon – it is what the British summer was invented for: Brits launching battling comebacks to overcome the odds on neat green courts.
Liam Broady was that battling Brit, forcing his way back from two sets down to beat Marinko Matosevic 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 on Court 18 and become a hero for a day. The sun even shone. It did not get any better than this.
For the British tennis players (those who aren’t Andy Murray, that is), Wimbledon can be something of an occupational hazard. Oh, it is still the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, it is still the best place to be at this time of year and it is still fantastic to play on home turf in front of your home crowd – don’t get us wrong – but it is awfully famous. So when a chap makes a bit of a hash of things, everyone tends to notice.
If Broady loses in the first round of a tournament in, let’s say, Ilkley (as he did a couple of weeks ago), no one bats an eyelid. The chances are, the only coverage the match would have received is a result tucked away with the six-point stuff in the corner of a sports page somewhere. If he loses in the first round in SW19, he knows he will be in every national newspaper in Britain and a few more local ones besides. That brings with it a whole new level of pressure that those of a more lowly rank are unused to. Even silver linings as good as Wimbledon can have a cloud wrapped around them.
And taking on Matosevic was hardly an easy opener, either. Matosevic is ranked 44 places above Broady at No.138 in the world pecking order, he stands 6ft 4in in his (‘almost entirely white’) tennis socks and weighs in at a muscular 190lb. There is an awful lot of Mr Matosevic. He is also 29 years old and has a wealth of experience behind him. Big, powerful and encouraged by his coach, Mark Woodforde, to embrace the grass and use it to attack at all opportunities, he was always going to be a handful for Britain’s No.6.
Broady, though, was making the news for many reasons on Day One. Both he and his sister, Naomi, were listed on the order of play – a family double and something of a novelty. Siblings are nothing new in tennis – we have the Williams sisters who have dominated the women’s game since the turn of the century, we have the Murray brothers who each have an All England Club trophy on their mantelpieces and we have the Bryan brothers who are the best doubles team in the world.
It's been a long road to finding myself in the main draw of a slam. Couldn't be happier
To have them playing on the same day in the same tournament is nothing special. And when it comes to the Bryans, it would only be newsworthy if they were not playing on the same day and in the same place. But in Britain, where the talent pool is small but select, we had not had a brother and sister playing at Wimbledon together in 37 years. (It was Buster and Linda Mottram in those days, in case you are wondering).
For two sets, it did look as if this family story was going to be short lived. Matosevic was doing just as his coach had asked of him: he was being aggressive, he was bullying the younger man and he was in charge. Two sets to the good, he had Broady just where he wanted him – in his rear view mirror.
But this is Wimbledon and Broady is a Brit. With the crowd urging him on, the man from Stockport stuck at it. As Matosevic went off the boil ever so slightly in the third set, so the world No.182 raised his game. He served his way of trouble when he was in a bind – he cracked down 14 aces in all – and he chased and scampered and harried and pushed from the back of the court. Against a man as temperamental as Matosevic, this relentless pressure worked a treat.
Matosevic’s error count grew ever larger while the crowd grew ever louder. They were stoutly behind the local man and they cheered his every move. Matosevic, meanwhile, was unravelling before their eyes.
As the Australian pumped another forehand into the net to give his tormentor a second match point, Broady turned to the crowd and asked for more noise. They duly obliged and then lifted the rafters as their man, Naomi Broady’s baby bruv, reached the second round and an appointment with David Goffin on Wednesday.
Alas, Naomi, once recovered from the excitement – she had gone out to watch little Liam – was unable to keep the family feel-good factor going. She was hard at work on Court 3 come dinner time, taking on Mariana Duque-Marino from Colombia but could only keep the world No.99 occupied for one hour and 27 minutes – Naomi lost 7-6, 6-3.
