Naomi Broady falls at first hurdle

29 June 2015 07:31

Naomi Broady was unable to complete a family double at Wimbledon, losing out in straight sets to Mariana Duque-Marino.

Colombian Duque-Marino triumphed 7-6 (7/5) 6-3, to deny Broady siblings Naomi and Liam a family one-two triumph after Liam toppled Marinko Matosevic in a five-set thriller.

While brother Liam turned a two-set deficit on its head to set up a second-round meeting with 16th seed David Goffin, Naomi was unable to produce a similar turnaround.

Broady conceded 82 ranking places to the world number 126 from South America, and in the end that gap took its toll.

The 25-year-old Duque-Marino edged out Broady in a tense first-set tie-break, before the Colombian prevailed in a hard-fought second set to progress to the second round.

As with her brother earlier in the day, Broady was right on the brink of defeat when launching a comeback.

Unlike sibling Liam though, Naomi Broady was unable to complete the dramatic turnaround.

Broady surrendered her serve on the fifth break point to slip 3-1 behind in the second set - only to steal Duque-Marino's very next service game.

Where Matosevic cracked mentally against Liam Broady in the day's opening clash however, Naomi's Colombian foe held firm.

Johanna Konta fell the same way as Naomi Broady, losing out 6-2 6-2 to the 2004 Wimbledon champion and fourth seed Maria Sharapova.

Konta was unable to make her momentum from reaching the Eastbourne quarter-finals count against the five-time grand slam-winning Russian.

The 24-year-old's wait for a first victory at Wimbledon continues, but that did not leave her too disheartened afterwards.

Quickly changing focus to her first-round doubles clash with the 12th seeds Venus and Serena Williams, Konta said: "I feel I'm one of the luckiest athletes in the world that I get to play not one, not two, but three incredible champions in the string of a few days. Not many people can say that."

Liam Broady had offered the British big hopes for a day of success when grinding out a slow start to dispatch former world number 39 Matosevic 5-7 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-3 for his first victory at a grand slam tournament.

Source: PA