By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Alastair Gray [WC] v Taylor Fritz [11] | H2H: First meeting
- Liam Broady [WC] v Diego Schwartzman [12] | H2H: Schwartzman leads 1-0
LONDON, ENGLAND – After winning their opening round matches, Alastair Gray and Liam Broady face difficult second round matches in the form of Taylor Fritz and Diego Schwartzman respectively.
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Alastair Gray [WC] v Taylor Fritz [11] | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Alastair Gray [WC] v Taylor Fritz [11] | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon 2022 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £78,000 |
| First on Court 12 at 11am BST | BBC Sport |
It was a Wimbledon debut to savour for Alastair Gray as he eased past Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-3 6-3 7-6(3) to reach the second round. The Brit’s power and defensive solidity was enough to get past the former juniors champion and now the world number 288 would love nothing more than to go further at his home grand slam. After the match Gray said he dealt with the occasion well:
“I’m more happy about how I dealt with the occasion. First match at Wimbledon. There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of things going on, a lot of tension. I thought I handled everything very well.”
However a tough match awaits Gray in the next round in the form of Eastbourne champion Taylor Fritz. After a difficult last couple of months since winning the Indian Wells title, Fritz has got back into form in the last week after an impressive run to the title in Eastbourne. The American’s big serve matched with heavy groundstrokes will be tough for anyone to beat and will look to make a deep grand slam run here.
This is a difficult match for Gray but will know that he has nothing to lose, the pressure is off him so he can just play with freedom. Although Gray played well in his opening match, Fritz should see off the Brit in straight sets.
Prediction: Fritz in straight sets.
Liam Broady [WC] v Diego Schwartzman [12] | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Liam Broady [WC] v Diego Schwartzman [12] | H2H: Schwartzman leads 1-0 |
| Wimbledon 2022 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £78,000 |
| Second on Court No. 3, not before 12:30pm BST | BBC Sport |
Liam Broady’s opening round match wasn’t as easy as Gray’s but the main thing is the result as he won in five sets against Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein. Broady’s persistence paid off in the end as the Brit served well in the crucial moments to seal a place in the second round for a second year in a row. After the match Broady admitted being mentally tough was what earned him the win:
“Managed to turn it around, and really pleased with the way I hung in there. I think the five-set matches are a test of mental endurance as much as physical endurance.”
For a second year in a row at the same stage of Wimbledon Broady will face Diego Schwartzman. Schwartzman had a good clay court season and comes into the grass court season with confidence. Although the Argentinian doesn’t like the grass court season, his win over Stefan Kozlov will give him belief that he can make a deep run at SW19.
Broady would have learned from last year’s experience and will be looking to use that as a foundation to be better prepared tactically for the match. Although this isn’t Schwartzman’s best surface, he still has the edge over the improving Brit.
Prediction: Schwartzman in four sets.
Jubb edged out by Kyrgios, Evans and Clarke exit at opening round
There were a few disappointments for Brits on Tuesday as Paul Jubb, Jay Clarke and Dan Evans all went out in the opening round. Starting with Jubb he put on a great display as he pushed Nick Kyrgios all the way to five sets in an event-packed match that saw Kyrgios with his usual crowd interactions. Jubb fought valiantly throughout the match but lost 7-5 in the fifth and after the match he was asked what the toughest thing is about playing Kyrgios:
“I think a combination of everything,” Jubb admitted.
“Especially at this stage for me, not having experienced that before… Someone at that level, who has a serve like that, yeah, I’d say it’s a good combination. Then maybe with more experience, I think maybe more of his game aspects. But, yeah, it’s an experience I’m grateful for and one that I’m certainly going to try to build from and learn from.
“That’s all I can do really. Like I said before, I’m definitely going on to bigger and better places. I’m the fraction of the player what I will be. Like taking those opportunity, maybe playing a bit different here and there, different games, managing the match a little bit better, that will come with time.”
Meanwhile Clarke lost in straight sets to American qualifier Christian Harrison while Evans played well-below par in his defeat to Jason Kubler as he also lost in straight sets.
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