Stockport’s Liam Broady batters his way into Wimbledon second round
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:
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.
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”.
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.
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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.
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?
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Featured Image — Liam Broady (via Instagram)/ATP Tour (via Twitter)