Stockport’s very own Liam Broady has cruised his way into the second round of Wimbledon 2023, beating his first opponent in straight sets for the first time at the tournament.
Broady, 29, beat Frenchman and world number 74 Constant Lestienne by 6-3, 6-1 7-5 in the opening round of this year’s Wimbledon Championships, doing so in fine fashion.
Hailing from the Heaton Chapel area of the town — just about a mile down the road from where fellow Stopfordian and British tennis legend Fred Perry grew up — Broady is the only English tennis player currently flying the flag for Greater Manchester at this year’s Grand Slam.
Winning the opening set in just 27 minutes, here’s the moment he secured his place in the next round, as captured by his coach David Sammel:
Liam Broady made it to the third round at Wimbledon in 2022 but is hoping to go even further this year.
Speaking to BBC Sport Manchester after the convincing victory, the British no.5 said remarked how he’d had a pretty “up and down year” so far, but a strong practice on Monday night helped him go into the opening match with some much-needed momentum.
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Broady went on to add that it was probably “one of the best performances [he’s] had at Wimbledon”, especially given the difficulty of his opponent and he managed it in straight sets.
However, as he told the Lawn Tennis Association, the wind out on-court meant that it wasn’t as comfortable as perhaps he made it look and his confidence hadn’t been as high as it was “five or six months ago” when he says he was “on the best run of form in [his] career”.
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Nevertheless, having now come back from an injury and started the sport’s biggest major off in style this year, he is now set to face the world no.4 in Norway’s Caspar Ruud in the second round and is hoping for a career-best finish this time around.
"He's stood next to me, so I won't speak too loud" 🤣
Elsewhere in the competition, another compatriot managed a momentous victory in the opening rounds as Jodie Burrage, who nearly had quit the sport a few years ago, finally managed to put injury woes behind her and win at Wimbledon for the first time, breaking down in tears in the post-match interview.
Fellow Brit Jan Choinski also progressed into the second round of his first Grand Slam as the wildcard marked his debut with an equally impressive win by 5-7 7-6 (4) 6-2 6-2.
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Harriet Dart and Katie Swan sadly fell at the first hurdle but with Andy Murray getting underway against countryman Ryan Peniston on Tuesday afternoon, not to mention Katie Boulter — who recently won her first WTA Tour title in Nottingham last month — there’s still plenty of British talent on show this year.
The question is, who’s going to go the furthest? To be honest, all we want is another big celebration from big Blue, Broady, following the treble — maybe the Haaland this time?
Featured Image — Liam Broady (via Instagram)/ATP Tour (via Twitter)
Sport
Manchester City have announced a special away day fan zone for festive fixture
Danny Jones
In a real added bonus for away fans making the roughly two-hour journey to their only fixture over the festive period, travelling Man City supporters are being treated to a dedicated away-day fan zone for their upcoming game against Nottingham Forest.
Now this is the kind of backing we want to see from big teams.
That’s right, for those visiting Nottingham for the meeting against the fellow Premier League side and one-time European Cup winners, Manchester City will be putting on a special and exclusive fan zone.
Confirmed on Christmas Eve ahead of the match this coming Saturday, 27 December, the club revealed a quick glimpse of the pop-up supporters’ park.
As detailed in the announcement, the public events space known as ‘The Nest’ will be open exclusively to away-ticket holders heading to the City Ground.
Perfect for a quick pit-stop before and after the clash, the venue is one of the closest you’ll find to the stadium itself and, better still, is located roughly just a 10-minute walk away from the railway station.
There will be a huge bar offering a wide selection of alcoholic and soft drinks, plus plenty of street food to enjoy. Here’s hoping the players don’t indulge in too many of those this Christmas, especially following Pep Guardiola’s ‘fatty’ comments.
They kick off at 12:30pm, but will everyone make the weight?…
Once again, Man City have advertised this as an away-day ticket-holder-only event, so we would probably call ahead and double-check if you’re a Blue who just so happens to live/be in the area and want to go along.
It also goes without saying that this will serve as an ideal and presumably trouble-free place to celebrate after the result, as it’s a strictly sky-blue event and we’d wager the title contenders and serial trophy winners to come out on top.
So, if you needed any extra assurance that making the approximately 81-mile trip to Nottingham, we’d say potentially going top at Christmas and cheersing a few pints with your mates on a would-be concourse designed just for you is plenty of added motivation.
As for those of you staying firmly in Greater Manchester this holiday season, there’s no reason you can’t still have a little away day of your own:
Featured Images — Manchester City (via X)/The Manc Group
Sport
Manchester City youngster Claudio Echeverri set for another loan spell
Danny Jones
Manchester City youngster Claudio Echeverri is set for another loan deal this January following a disappointing time in Germany.
The South American youth product has spent the first half of this season out on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, but has struggled not only to make an impact but even to enjoy any real steady playing time.
Following reports earlier this month by The Athletic‘s Seb Stafford-Bloor that announced Echeverri’s loan would return to his Man City, it appears as though all parties concerned haven’t exactly gotten what they want out of the deal.
With that in mind, not only has his short-term agreement been cut short, but Echeverri is now set to join another City Football Group (CFG) club on a temporary contract, where he can crucially be assured more regular minutes.
As confirmed by the ever ubiquitous transfer insider, Fabrizio Romano, Claudio Echeverri is now set to join Girona temporarily from the Premier League side.
Romano writes that “the Argentinian talent leaves Bayer Leverkusen after loan deal interrupted — as Echeverri was not playing.”
Stating that the 19-year-old will officially become a Girona FC player from 1 January onwards, he will no doubt provide some much-needed offensive firepower for the struggling Spanish side, with the Catalan club currently lingering in the La Liga relegation zone.
Following a somewhat reverse pattern of fellow forward, Savinho (who was signed by the French CFG franchise arm, Troyes, before being loaned to Girona and eventually bought by Man City), the attack-minded player remains a highly-rated youth prospect but has yet to fully announce himself.
He scored the first goal for his parent club back in June; it’s fair to say it was a bit of a corker…
Fast forward to now, though, and Echeverri will spend at least until next June representing Girona – no doubt dropping straight into the starting lineup as soon as possible.
At the moment, there is no suggestion of any permanent clause included in the agreement, but either way, ‘El Diablito’ is still a CFG asset, at the end of the day.
With that in mind, we’re sure they’ll move him around the sporting network however they see fit in search of a breakout spell.
Do you think it’s a good move for the young starlet, or would you like to see him back in Manchester, fighting his way into matchday squads?
Danny Jones -
4th July 2023 
