Liam Broady admitted it took a monumental effort to realise his childhood dream as a career-best win over Casper Ruud on Centre Court made him the first British male into the third round at Wimbledon.
Broady outlasted world number four Ruud to win 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 in an enthralling contest that lasted three hours and 27 minutes.
Victory over Ruud, who had made the finals of Roland Garros and the US Open during the past 12 months, was even sweeter for the Stockport left-hander given it took place in front of a buoyant Centre Court crowd. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. “It was a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience coming out at Centre Court on Wimbledon, but it’s been my dream since I was five-years-old,” Broady reflected, having lost his only other match on the venue to Andy Murray in straight-sets in 2016. “I played on Court One in the finals of the juniors (in 2011).
I was a set and a break up. I completely choked it, completely guffed it. That has kind of haunted me my entire career, to be honest. “It always bothered me coming back, playing on the bigger courts and never really feeling like I was comfortable and had performed.
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