Charles Broom looking to build on Wimbledon qualification chance
Charles Broom of St Albans is confident Wimbledon qualification attempt will help in the long run. - Credit: LEWIS STOREY/GETTY IMAGES FOR LTA
It wasn't to be this year but St Albans' Charles Broom believes qualification for Wimbledon is moving closer.
The 24-year-old was beaten 6-3 7-5 in the first round of this year's attempts to get to SW19 by Bulgarian Dimitar Kuzmanov.
But while he was slightly frustrated not to force a deciding set, he was pleased with his overall performance and the opportunity itself.
He said: "It’s my first experience and he’s a pretty good player but I pushed him hard, especially in the second set.
"I was up 5-2 and had some chances to close out, but he’s experienced and knew when to knuckle down on a couple of the bigger points.
"I played in pre-qualifying and ended up losing in the last round so I wasn’t sure I was going to get [an invitation]. To then get the phone call was extremely exciting and a huge confidence boost, because I know I am playing well."
The next step is to improve on his world ranking of 417th after some positive results recently.
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He said: "I’ve got some of my best wins of my career so far and I feel like my game is pretty well suited to grass. I feel like I’ve had some good moments and things to work on.
"It’s nice knowing that even though this has been my first year properly playing, I’m not that far away from playing at the very top level.
"I know I can play at this level and it’s given me a lot of confidence going forward. It’s been a good grass court season for sure.
"I’ve got a few points to defend, I had a good back end of last year, so I’m just trying to get my ranking up as high as I can and maintain those points.
"I haven’t set too many specific targets, it’s just judging where my games at and what I need to work on."
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA Website.
