British hopeful Liam Broady has edged out Marinko Matosevic in a thrilling five-set affair to progress into the second round of Wimbledon.
The wildcard found himself two sets behind before bouncing back in style to claim a 5-7 5-6 6-3 6-2 6-3 win in front of a joyous home crowd.
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Following an opening set that swung both ways, Broady and Matosevic each earning one break of serve, it took until the 11th game before the latter really got a foothold on things.
Matosevic broke to love to move to the brink of a key early lead in the contest, and he successfully got the job done in his next service game.
Matters little improved for Broady in the second set as his Australian opponent held throughout to claim a commanding two-set lead at SW19.
The 21-year-old showed real spirit to drag his way back into the contest, however, finally getting the better of his opponent with a third set point to make it 2-1 overall.
Broady was growing into the match more and more as it progressed, and that was clear to see in a fourth set that he wrapped up rather convincingly.
After breaking an out-of-form Matosevic, who is now without a win in 12 outings, in the second game, the youngster did not look back as he levelled things up to force a decider.
The Australian was looking dejected at this stage, but he was not willing to role over and he found himself two games to the good in a tense final set.
It was Broady - who had lost his last six matches heading into this one - who held his nerve, though, seeing the job through by ending Matosevic's hopes with his second match point to mark his Grand Slam bow in style.
Daniel Lewis
