Liam Broady made it a perfect four out of four as he came through a match of contrasts to beat Aussie Christopher O'Connell 7-6 6-0 and book his place in the main draw of the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells, California in the early hours of this morning.
Broady now plays Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia in the first round on Friday as one of eight British players in the main draws.
O'Connell was down as the bookies' favourite with one high roller allegedly having bet over £16,000 on him to emerge victorious last night after an impressive opening to the season which saw him take Andy Murray to the brink before being defeated in Dubai last time out.
But Stockport-born Broady, who had already successfully qualified for the last three main tour events this year, has also been in fine form.
It was O'Connell who started the brightest, breaking Broady's opening service game and holding in authoritative fashion to claim the early advantage. But Broady gained a foothold in the match and then broke back with a service return winner on an O'Connell first serve to draw level at 3-3.
Broady continued to press the Australian's serve bringing up two break points in O'Connell's next service game and a set point at 5-4 only to see the opportunities slip by.
Broady was forced to fend off a breakpoint himself at 5-5, before this super tight set reached its natural conclusion with a tie break.
O'Connell drew first blood bringing up a 3-1 lead in the tie break, but Broady roared back to hold two more set points at 6-4.
This titanic battle wasn't over as O'Connell again restored parity and saved a fourth breakpoint at 7-6 before the Stockport left hander finally sealed the first set, 9-7.
O'Connell was visibly frustrated at slipping behind, and his mood didn't improve as Broady broke him at the start of the second set after edging another long game.
The second set featured lots of close games, but despite holding several game points, O'Connell wasn't able to convert any of them as Broady broke twice more to kill the game as a contest.
O'Connell cut a desolate figure as Broady served out to love in the final game to bring up the dreaded bagel, taking the second set 6-0.
Broady will chalk up another 16 ATP points for this superb qualifying win and will be looking to keep his run going against 22-year-old Serbian star Kecmanovic in the main draw first round, with former US Open champion and Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic awaiting the winner in the second round.
