Charles Broom is determined to take the lessons out of losing after falling to first-round defeat at Wimbledon.
Broom took on three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka for his SW19 debut and went toe-to-toe with the former world No.3 but eventually lost 6-3 7-5 6-4 to the experienced Swiss.
The St Albans player was 5-2 up in the second set but missed his chance to level proceedings by millimetres with one shot before finding the net on another set point.
That appeared to turn the tide back towards Wawrinka, who wrested control of the contest and ultimately took victory in straight sets.
But Broom, who reached the final of the LTA’s Rothesay Open Nottingham in June, insisted that while there would always be a question of what if after letting the second set slip, there was lots to learn from his maiden Wimbledon appearance.
He said: “I am certainly a little bit disappointed, but honestly just immense sense of pride to be able to play here and push him pretty close.
“I think I had a fair few chances in that second set. Even losing the third I felt like I was coming back in the middle a little bit. It was probably just a little too late.
“I had those chances even on his serve. I think I hit a return that was probably a couple of inches wide. It felt pretty good off the racket, that’s for sure.
“I could feel the momentum starting to shift in the game at 5-3, and I knew that was an important one
“It was an amazing experience above all else. I’ve played in front of big crowds, but that’s probably the biggest. I look forward to doing that more as hopefully my career progresses.
“I try not to view it as losing, but learning.”
Broom arrived in Wimbledon off the back of an encouraging grass-court season, with the 26-year-old beating British No.3 Dan Evans en route to the final in Nottingham, where he lost to fellow Brit Jacob Fearnley.
His performances there and at the LTA’s Rothesay International Eastbourne, where he reached the last 16, earned him a main draw wildcard at Wimbledon.
A plum tie against Wawrinka saw friends flock to support him on his debut on Court Three, and he revealed he certainly felt the love as a home hopeful at the All England Club.
“It was amazing,” he added. “I had a lot of friends there. A couple of flew over from the USA, a couple of them came to me before the match.
“I saw one was wearing an “I love Charlie Broom” shirt. I was like, ‘Mate, you have to take that one off’ but he stuck with that one on, which was nice.
“He flew in this morning I think and literally took an Uber straight from the airport. I definitely owe them a lot coming out to support me. I hope they enjoyed it
“All of my friends that were there, they have helped me each individually in different ways at different points in my career, whether I have just stayed with them or helped me a bit with coaching and feedback.
“My whole team that was there have really genuinely helped me so much, so I owe them a lot.
“The support from everyone was just amazing, just coming out and hearing the cheers.
“Even when I was down in that third set, I think, 3-0 double break down, it could have easily gone downhill, but tried to keep my focus and keep the momentum going.
“The crowd really lifted sort of my energy there in that third. I really loved it, the whole experience. I want to do it again, that’s for sure.”
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