Wimbledon 2017: Marcus Willis beats compatriot Liam Broady in qualifying

Posted: Jun 28, 2017

Wimbledon qualifying
Venue: Bank of England Sports Centre, Roehampton Date: 26-29 June
Coverage: 11:00-17:00 BST on BBC Red Button and 11:00-19:00 BST on Connected TV and online

Marcus Willis is one match from qualifying for Wimbledon for the second year running after beating fellow Briton Liam Broady.

Willis, who eventually lost to Roger Federer in last year’s second round, won 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (7-2) 6-2.

He goes on to face Ukrainian ninth seed Illya Marchenko for a place in the main draw.

Alex Ward, Jay Clarke and Katy Dunne were other British winners on day three at Roehampton.

Clarke, 18, beat Sweden’s Elias Ymer 6-4 7-6 (7-5) and Ward, 27, pulled off an upset by beating Japan’s Go Soeda, ranked 744 places higher at 111, 6-3 6-1.

It is the first time since 1999 that three British men have reached the final round of Wimbledon qualifying, with prize money of at least £35,000 guaranteed for those who make it through.

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In the women’s singles, Dunne, 22, beat Serbia’s Irina Jorovic 7-5 7-5 to reach the second round.

Clarke will play Austria’s Sebastian Ofner, ranked 145 places higher than the Briton at 215, in the third and final round of qualifying, and Ward will play Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia.

Dunne, ranked 286th, will take on Belgian second seed Alison van Uytvanck in round two.

Harriet Dart, Maia Lumsden, Gabriella Taylor, Freya Christie and Eden Silva were all beaten.

Poor weather has forced organisers to extend the qualifying event to a fifth day on Friday.

‘It’s tough playing a friend’

Willis, 26, came through three rounds of pre-qualifying, three rounds of qualifying and the first-round proper at the All England Club last year, before losing to Federer on Centre Court.

He showed his grass-court skills once more against fellow qualifying wild card Broady, using his variety of pace and spin to good effect as he won a tight match.

Asked what it would mean to qualify, Willis said: “Everything. I’m just trying to keep my head down and prove I should be there again.”

After dominating the tie-break to clinch the first set, Willis – ranked seven places below Broady at 374 – fought back from a break down in the second.

Broady, 23, saved three match points in game 10 and forced a decider only to drop serve early in the final set with a loose game.

With the light fading, Willis broke again to lead 5-2 and converted his fourth match point at 20:06 BST.

“It was an absolute battle,” said Willis.

“I thought Liam played fantastically and it’s a shame someone had to lose. It’s a shame we had to play against each other in qualifying.

“Overall I’m very happy with the win, obviously, but it’s tough playing a friend. You have to put your feelings aside and try and win a tennis match.”