Liam Broady’s Wimbledon run ends on bad day for men’s British tennis

By Sports Desk July 07, 2023

Liam Broady described the 90 minutes where he, Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie all exited Wimbledon as a “Debbie Downer”.

Broady’s impressive journey ended in the third round after he was unable to produce a repeat of his shock victory of Casper Ruud when beaten 4-6 6-2 7-5 7-5 by Denis Shapovalov.

The defeat ended British interest in the men’s singles as Broady followed Murray and Norrie out on a chastening afternoon for the male home players.


He did get further than his two compatriots, who both went out in the second round, as he matched his best performance at a grand slam, but says that did not count for much.

 

Asked if he could take any pride out of that, he said: “Not particularly, no. It kind of makes it worse that we’ve all lost on the same day, as well.

“Obviously I’d have preferred for us all to have won. Probably would have felt a bit better if we’d staggered what days we lost on, whereas now it’s a bit of a Debbie Downer, isn’t it?

“For all three of those results to happen on the same day is pretty rough.”

Broady will perhaps have some regrets as he served to go two sets to one up against Shapovalov, but will leave the tournament feeling proud of his efforts as the British man who got the furthest.

The £131,000 payday and rankings boost will make a tangible difference to his career, starting with the prospect of him making the US Open main draw next month.

“Obviously to make third round, being ranked 140 in the world, beating Constant Lestienne first round, that’s an upset in itself. Doing it in straight sets was amazing as well.

“Then obviously to beat Casper on Centre yesterday, it feels like it was a week ago already.

“Then really it’s difficult going on court less than 24 hours after you finish a five-set match on Centre in that way. Such an emotional and stressful match. Then straight back out there against a top, top grass-court player.

“Denis was just the better player, better man out there today. But, again, I think I can take the positives from it.

“The hard court season now is an amazing opportunity for me. Even if I could win one of the Challengers or have a deep run at one of the ATPs, I could be top 100 before the US Open.

“That’s the goal at the end of the day.”

Related items

  • Swiatek battles back to reach Madrid Open semi-finals Swiatek battles back to reach Madrid Open semi-finals

    Iga Swiatek has booked her place in the Madrid Open semi-finals after battling back from a set down to defeat Beatriz Haddad Maia.

    The top seed, who made it to the final last year, dropped a set for the first time in this tournament before recovering to win 4-6 6-0 6-2 in a match that lasted just short of two-and-a-half hours.

    These two players met in the French Open semi-finals last year and 11th seed Haddad Maia was eyeing an upset when she fought back from 4-1 down to claim the opener.

    But Swiatek dropped serve just once in the next two sets as she assumed full control and swept to victory, powered by winning eight straight games from the start of the second set.

    Data Debrief: Swiatek statistics up there with the best

    Up next for Swiatek will be a last-four clash against either Ons Jabeur or Madison Keys, who play later on Tuesday. That will be her 15th WTA 1000 semi-final appearance since 2020, with no other player having made it to double figures (Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari are the next best on eight each).

    Beating Haddad Maia also means Swiatek has equalled Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the fastest player to reach 25 WTA 1000 wins on clay, doing so in just 29 matches.

    And Swiatek's emphatic second set saw her tie Coco Gauff for the most number of 6-0 sets won so far this year. They both have seven, just ahead of Sabalenka (five).

    Defending champion Sabalenka plays Mirra Andreeva in the last eight on Wednesday after battling past Danielle Collins in three sets. All three of her wins so far have been in deciding sets.

    The other last-eight clash is between Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva.

  • Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid Open quarter-finals Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid Open quarter-finals

    Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.

    The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.

    Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.

    Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.

    Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone

    Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.

    Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.

  • Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid quarter-finals Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid quarter-finals

    Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.

    The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.

    Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.

    Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.

    Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone

    Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.

    Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.