Australian Open 2016: Naomi Broady eliminated after losing to France's Alize Lim

Naomi Broady has been knocked out of the first round of Australian Open qualifying, losing 6-3 2-6 6-3 to France's Alize Lim. The Briton, who is currently ranked 112th in the world, lost to world number 166 Alize Lim in Melbourne, Australia.

The 25-year-old was seeking to make it in to the main draw of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. However, her efforts to do so were undermined by frequent troubles with her ball toss and serve throughout the match, which was played in blustery conditions, according to the Daily Mail.

The British number three lost the opening set to her French opponent, before levelling the match at one set apiece after a more aggressive approach in the second. But she made a number of costly errors in the deciding set to hand control to Lim. Although Broady managed to save two match points, the Frenchwoman sealed her surprise win in an hour and 53 minutes.

Broady will be especially disappointed by the result in light of her good recent form, which had included a high-profile win against Ana Ivanovic in Auckland, New Zealand earlier in January. She was, however, unable to carry her momentum in to the first grand slam of the year.