Australia’s Marinko Matosevic begins his Wimbledon campaign tonight when he faces the 18th seed Fernando Verdasco. Join The Roar for lives scores and commentary from 8:00pm (AEST).
It is a match Marinko can win, but he will need to be at his best, in order to defeat the Spaniard.
Matosevic has been one of the form players in the grass season so far. He made the final of the first Nottingham Challenger, losing to Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets.
The Victorian followed that up with a quarter final appearance at Queens. Along the way in that tournament he defeated former top ten players in Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
His best can defeat Fernando Verdasco but his worst can see him eliminated at the first hurdle. The worst has usually come at Grand Slam level as Matosevic struggled recently to win at the highest level on the ATP.
Before the French Open, he had lost his last 12 matches in Grand Slam main draws. This changed at Roland Garros when he defeated Dustin Brown in four sets.
His celebration, when he rolled down the court, was one of the highlights of the tournament. He ended up losing to Andy Murray in the second round but it was a good Grand Slam event from the Australian.
How this win impacts him at further Grand Slam events is one of the big questions heading into tonight. Will he go into a shell, and go back to his performances before the win at Roland Garros? Or will it unleash the player that has made finals, and quarter finals, at ATP events and Masters Events respectively?
The match against Verdasco will put that to the ultimate test tonight. Verdasco has performed well at Wimbledon and made the quarter final last year.
He has also made the 4th round on three occasions at the All England club. It will be a stern test for Matosevic and he will need to be at his best to win.
Head to head the duo have faced each other twice before. Last year Matosevic defeated Verdasco in straight sets at Monte Carlo.
In 2011, Verdasco evened the ledger, with a straight sets win at Washington. If Matosevic is to win tonight then he will need to replicate what he did at Queens. His returning was among the best at the event and his net coverage was first class.
With Wimbledon, in some instances, still being a serve and volley event, it will be important for Matosevic to come to the net as much as he can.
If he does, he can surprise Verdasco, and win plenty of points. Making the Spaniard run will be critical in tonight’s match.
The serve of both players will be important as well. Matosevic’s second serve has been vulnerable in recent Grand Slam matches and it is something he will need to be strong at tonight.
Verdasco’s serve will also be crucial. Matosevic will be able to attack it if Verdasco struggles with it. At times during the last 12 months he has struggled with the serve.
Whoever serves more aces will more than likely win the match. It is shaping up to be one of the big Round 1 matches and this could easily go to five sets.
I think Matosevic can win the match tonight, and if he brings the form of Queens, then he is value to beat Verdasco. Marinko Matosevic to win in a five set epic.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Outstanding!
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
That is all from me tonight. Thanks for joining me in the live blog between Matosevic and Verdasco. Wonderful result for Australia.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
FINAL THOUGHTS: Matosevic was incredible on the serve today. His serve-volleying was the difference between the two today. Full credit must go to Mark Woodforde who gave him the perfect tactic to win. He could now go on a run in the event. Chardy or Cox are beatable and he could beat Gulbis in the third round. The Mad-Dog has been unleashed. Wonderful.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Marinko Matosevic seals it with an ace. Matosevic defeats Fernando Verdasco 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-2 in the 1st round at Wimbledon. Incredible performance from the Australian. He will face either Jeremy Chardy or Daniel Cox.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Two match points for Marinko Matosevic.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
The upset is almost complete as Matosevic breaks again. He swings from the racquet and gets the double break. Incredible scenes in Wimbledon. The Aussie will serve for the match.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Matosevic survives and leads 4-2 in the fourth set. Two games to go now for the Australian.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Verdasco holds comfortably and is now down 3-2. This would be Matosevic's biggest win at Grand Slam level if he holds on. It isn't the highest ranked player he has beaten though. Verdasco is currently 24 in the world. He defeated Tsonga at Queen's when he was 17 in the world. He also defeated Tommy Haas when he was the 12th best in the world and Milos Raonic when he was the 13th best player.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Matosevic holds to 15 and races to a 3-1 lead. Just needs to win three more games on his serve.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Verdasco now holds to love and is on the scoreboard in the fourth set. Matosevic still leads 2-1 with a break.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Matosevic makes it 8 points in a row as he holds to love. 2-0 to the Australian.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Here is your stat of the day: Matosevic is 34/49 when he serves and volleys the point. Verdasco is 0/0
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Incredible start to the fourth set by Marinko. He breaks to LOVE and leads 1-0 in the fourth set. Just needs to hold serve for the rest of the match. What a 15 minutes of tennis by Matosevic.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
3rd SET STATS: ACES – Matosevic 3 Verdasco 7 1st SERVE – Matosevic 24/34 Verdasco 21/32 PTS WON ON 1st SERVE – Matosevic 19/24 Verdasco 16/21 DOUBLE FAULTS – Matosevic 0 Verdasco 0 WINNERS – Matosevic 8 Verdasco 14 UNFORCED ERRORS – Matosevic 8 Verdasco 7 BREAK POINTS – Matosevic 1/5 Verdasco 0/2 NET APPROACHES – Matosevic 8/15 Verdasco 1/3
mds1970
Roar Guru
Matosevic playing the match of his life. Taking the third set is a huge boost - even if Verdasco comes back to win, he's going to have to do it in five. Keep it going Marinko!!!!
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Marinko Matosevic takes the third set 6-4. That is one of the Victorians best sets of tennis at Grand Slam level. A less confident Matosevic would have lost that set. He leads 6-4 4-6 6-4 in the match.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Matosevic breaks and leads 5-4 in the third set. What a turnaround in the set. He was almost gone at 3-4 and 15-40 down. Now he is one game away from the third set. He lifted his intensity nicely in the 9th game and his backhand was superb.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
And a cracking backhand cross court shot gives the Aussie three break points. What a turnaround.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
The flat backhand is great from Matosevic at the moment. He fires it down the line and gets 0-15 on Verdasco's serve.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Great hold by Matosevic. The set was virtually gone if he conceded the break in that game. Level at 4-4 and now Verdasco has some pressure.