Liam Broady 5 4 6 6 6
Marinko Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3
Australian Marinko Matosevic will look to put a horrid run of form behind him when he clashes with the United Kingdom’s Liam Broady who hasn’t been in top form himself and has been handed a wildcard for the main draw of Wimbledon 2015. Join The Roar from 8:30pm (AEST) for live scores of this match.
Matosevic’s recent form has been what you would call downright horrible. He has not won in his last 11 appearances, his last coming against Marcel Granollers in February on the hard court in Acapulco. Since then it has been loss after loss, four of his last six in straight sets.
He has only played two games on grass since the French Open and has found a way to lose games he should be winning.
Matosevic has never made it past the second round of any Grand Slam, and only once has he done that at Wimbledon which came in his fourth attempt at the tournament last year.
Broady meanwhile, has been in marginally better form than Matosevic, although nothing to be happy with, losing his last six matches in a row including the only four he has played on grass. Whilst Broady is ranked 181st in the world, that is steadily improving as he gains experience and has probably dropped some games he really shouldn’t have dropped in the lead up to Wimbledon.
For Broady, this will be his first appearance in the main singles draw of any Grand Slam, being given a wildcard for Wimbledon. He did attempt to qualify for the Australian and French opens earlier in the year however failed to. He has played in doubles before at Wimbledon, being eliminated in the first round.
Broady has been earmarked for big things in the future, having been runner up in the Wimbledon boys tournament of 2011 and the boys US Open of 2012.
Matosevic has never faced off with Broady before this first round clash at Wimbledon, which is not a surprise considering Broady is one of the youngest players in the main draw at just 21.
Conflicting styles will also make this match an interesting one, with Matosevic a right hander and Broady a lefty. Whichever one can get on top and dominate with their forehand will go a long way to winning this match.
The winner of this match should end up facing the 16th seed David Goffin in the second round who is up against Horacio Zeballos, who is ranked 128th in the world.
Prediction: It is hard to see Broady winning in his first Grand Slam against a player like Matosevic, who whilst being in horrible form should be able to call on experience and skill to get over the line. I still expect Broady to push him all the way though.
Matosevic in 5 sets.
Join The Roar for live scores of this match from 8:30pm (AEST) on Monday and don’t forget to leave a comment if you’re following along with the action.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Matosevic now with a pair of lets before he comes up to the net and puts one out. INCREDIBLE! Broady has come back from two sets down to knock the Aussie out. LIAM BROADY defeats MARINKO MATOSEVIC 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Scott Pryde
Expert
Matosevic gets his first serve in and a rally of forehands before Matosevic comes up to the net again and puts it into the net. MATCH POINT BROADY Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3 Broady 5 4 6 6 5 - AD
Scott Pryde
Expert
Matosevic with an ace before it goes back to Deuce with some great play from Broady as Matosevic comes to the net again. Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3 - Deuce. Broady 5 4 6 6 5
Scott Pryde
Expert
Matosevic misses the first serve before a long rally of forehands and then as he comes up to the net Broady hits a forehand out. Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3 - deuce. Broady 5 4 6 6 5
Scott Pryde
Expert
Matosevic again tries to come up to the net and this time Broady just chips one over his head. Lovely shot! Matosevic brings Broady to the net this time as well and puts one out. MATCH POINT BROADY Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3 - 30 Broady 5 4 6 6 5 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Matosevic tries to go down the T but misses before getting his second serve in. A long rally follows and Broady just puts it out, unluckily really. Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3 - 15 Broady 5 4 6 6 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Matosevic now takes the first point by coming up to the net and then tries the same thing again but puts it out. Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3 - 15 Broady 5 4 6 6 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Broady up 30 - 15 and now a wonderful serve that sees Matosevic's return go long... Very long. Now another solid serve and he holds! Matosevic to serve to stay in the match. Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3 Broady 5 4 6 6 5
Scott Pryde
Expert
We re join the action here with Broady up 4-3 in the fifth set incredibly having just broken Matosevic! Matosevic 7 6 3 2 3 Broady 5 4 6 6 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
Last update before I go an blog the Williams game - Both held another serve however Matosevic has just broken Broady to take a 5-4 lead in the second. He will now serve for the second set and a two set lead. Broady is fighting hard but his inexperience is telling. Matosevic 7 5 Broady 5 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
Again both hold serve, Matosevic holding to love after fighting for a break on Broady's serve. Matosevic 7 3 Broady 5 3
Scott Pryde
Expert
Both have just held serve. 2-2 in the second set. Broady won two points on Matosevic's serve though. Matosevic 7 2 Broady 5 2
Scott Pryde
Expert
Evening all, Just some occasional updates on this one - i'll be blogging both Williams v Gasparyan and Bolelli v Nishikori a bit later on this evening. Matosevic managed to take out the first set 7-5, Broady pushing him hard but Matosevic holding well in the end. In the second set it is now 1-1 with Broady on serve.