Liam Broady was beaten in straight sets to Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas, putting Great Britain 1-0 down in their Davis Cup World Group tie in Spain.
Broady, who is ranked 165th in the world, put up a great fight against the world number 21 but lost 6-3 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
After a gruelling contest throughout, Broady was unfortunate not to secure the second set after ironing out the mistakes from the first set and producing tennis of a quality not seen by most Davis Cup debutants.
However, Ramos-Vinolas showed experience and countered the aggressive style of Broady well to clinch the second set by breaking Broady at 5-4.
In the third and what turned out to be the final set, Broady remained positive, gaining a lot of success from his serve and volley.
The two players both produced brilliant drop shots which impressed the crowd massively, and the Great Britain fans remained loud and optimistic, giving the tiring Broady a second wind of energy.
After some incredible long rallies, the third set went to a tie-break. Despite having a set point, the Spaniard’s experience and composure proved to be the deciding factor, as Ramos-Vinolas hit a brilliant forehand winner followed by a perfect cross-court return from Broady’s serve that the Brit couldn’t quite get onto the end of.
It was a valiant effort from the 24-year-old, and he can take a lot of confidence going forward after giving an experienced player a great match.
