With Venus Williams going out to Daria Kasatkina not many tennis watchers thought we would see another upset straight after as Naomi Broady took on Ana Ivanovic.
However Naomi came out hitting hard and full of confidence having already won 3 qualifying matches in Auckland. Naomi broke instantly before Ivanovic pulled it back to 2-2 in the first set. The games where close and both players hitting their shots. At 4-4 Broady got into trouble and with Ana breaking many though that the match was over right there. However Broady knew she was competing well on the Serbian's serve and with the help of some Ivanovic 2nd serves Naomi broke back to level at 5-5 before holding to love and then pressing Ana again. Ivanovic got flustered and double faulted as Broady completed a dramatic 1st set comeback and took it 7-5.
Both players put each others serves under pressure throughout the 2nd set, but Naomi's big 1st serve kept striking the aces at the correct time and getting the Brit out of trouble. Naomi is prone to the odd collapse in matches but today she remained focused, powerful and full of ability. Broady held for a 7-5 5-4 lead and gained 2 MP at 15-40 before Ivanovic got back to deuce. Again this could have been Naomi's chance gone, but nope..... the British number 3 was not going to be outdone! A wild miss at the net from Ivanovic and it was all over.... Naomi Broady had done the unthinkable. The World number 122 had defeated tennis royalty in Ana Ivanovic. Its a massive achievement for Naomi who really had a solid end to 2015 with experience gained at WTA level which is what she needed. She has very few WTA points to defend until summer so has a realistic chance of breaking into the top 100 if she can keep this form up.
Next for Naomi is young Latvian sensation Jelena Ostapenko - another big test. Broady lost 2-6 4-6 in Quebec last year and I expect another hard hitting match up here in Auckland. Good Luck Naomi Broady, you did us Brits very proud
However Naomi came out hitting hard and full of confidence having already won 3 qualifying matches in Auckland. Naomi broke instantly before Ivanovic pulled it back to 2-2 in the first set. The games where close and both players hitting their shots. At 4-4 Broady got into trouble and with Ana breaking many though that the match was over right there. However Broady knew she was competing well on the Serbian's serve and with the help of some Ivanovic 2nd serves Naomi broke back to level at 5-5 before holding to love and then pressing Ana again. Ivanovic got flustered and double faulted as Broady completed a dramatic 1st set comeback and took it 7-5.
Both players put each others serves under pressure throughout the 2nd set, but Naomi's big 1st serve kept striking the aces at the correct time and getting the Brit out of trouble. Naomi is prone to the odd collapse in matches but today she remained focused, powerful and full of ability. Broady held for a 7-5 5-4 lead and gained 2 MP at 15-40 before Ivanovic got back to deuce. Again this could have been Naomi's chance gone, but nope..... the British number 3 was not going to be outdone! A wild miss at the net from Ivanovic and it was all over.... Naomi Broady had done the unthinkable. The World number 122 had defeated tennis royalty in Ana Ivanovic. Its a massive achievement for Naomi who really had a solid end to 2015 with experience gained at WTA level which is what she needed. She has very few WTA points to defend until summer so has a realistic chance of breaking into the top 100 if she can keep this form up.
Next for Naomi is young Latvian sensation Jelena Ostapenko - another big test. Broady lost 2-6 4-6 in Quebec last year and I expect another hard hitting match up here in Auckland. Good Luck Naomi Broady, you did us Brits very proud