Wimbledon: Charles Broom fails to sweep through on tough day for Brits at SW19

Charles Broom, 26, made his first appearance in the main draw after a late wild card selection following his final in Nottingham and first-round win over former world No 39 Mikhail Kukushkin in Ilkley.

Handed a mouthwatering draw against three-time grand slam champion and former world No 3 Stan Wawrinka, 248-ranked Broom had to be at his best to stay with the 39-year-old.

After an assured start to the match, a loose service game making four unforced errors saw Hertfordshire’s Broom broken to love which proved decisive in the opening set.

Broom bounced back with an early break of serve in the second set after two drop shots set up break point which was converted after a backhand miss from Wawrinka, now ranked 95 in the world.

After seeing three set points go begging against serve, Broom stepped up to try and serve out the set. A forehand miss on his only set point of the game put the pressure on, and after a drop volley miss from the Brit, Wawrinka rolled back the years with a crosscourt backhand winner to level.

After a comfortable hold, Wawrinka broke again after Broom missed a forehand into the net and served out the set with a backhand winner down the line.

Momentum now with the twice quarter-finalist at SW19, Wawrinka found an early break in the third set after a long deuce game, and after keeping things clean on serve, he converted his first match point with a trademark backhand missile down the line.

After falling to a 3-6 5-7 4-6 defeat on his Wimbledon debut, Broom said: “I’m certainly a little bit disappointed, but honestly just immense sense of pride to be able to play here and push him pretty close.

“I think I had a fair few chances in that second set. I had those chances even on his serve. I think I hit a return that was probably a couple of inches wide.

“To a certain extent, that's probably my level, and just exposing myself to those important moments on a bigger stage, it's something I'm going to have to get used to.”

On playing in his first Wimbledon main draw, Broom added: “It was an amazing experience above all else.

“I've played in front of big crowds, but that's probably the biggest. I’ll look forward to doing that more as hopefully my career progresses.

“As I say, try not to view it as losing, but learning. Yeah, hopefully it won't be my last time here.”

Broom’s Wimbledon is not over as he looks forward to partnering 21-year-old Arthur Fery in the doubles, who also saw his singles campaign ended on the first day.

France-born Fery grew up a stone’s throw from the All England Club in Wimbledon and he looked like he might be on for his first victory on the SW19 turf after taking a 2-1 set lead against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.

However, after both players had treatment during a changeover early in the fourth set, momentum shifted in favour of the 25-year-old, ranked 80 in the world, who completed a 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 6-3 6-1 victory.

All hopes of an opening day British win in the men’s singles were now with Manchester’s Liam Broady, 30, before he fell to defeat in four sets against 97-ranked Botic Van De Zandschulp, 28, of the Netherlands.

Centre court opened with world No 3 and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, 21, who got his work done in straight sets.

Alcaraz faced a stern test in the opening two sets against his 269-ranked opponent Mark Lajal, 21, of Estonia, but he found his rhythm to complete a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-2 victory.

Former world No 1 Naomi Osaka needed three sets to win her first match at Wimbledon after a four-year absence.

A four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka, 26, made the most of her wildcard entry with a 6-1 1-6 6-4 win over 21-year-old Diane Parry of France.

French Open finalist and seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, 28, made a comfortable start to her campaign in the grass court slam. The Italian continued her late breakout season with a straight sets victory over 55-ranked Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo (27).

Greece’s Maria Sakkari (28), ranked nine in the world, won in two comfortable sets against 24-year-old American Mccartney Kessler.

Meanwhile Andy Murray put his body to the test, as he delays a decision on whether to step on court for his final Wimbledon, by playing a practice set with East Yorkshire’s Kyle Edmund, 29, who is in doubles action at this year’s championships.

The 37-year-old is unsure whether he is in good enough physical shape to play his first-round match against Czech Tomas Machac on Tuesday.

Murray said: “It was good. I’m going to go and have a chat with my team now, speak to my family this evening and then make a decision.”