Liam Broady In Shock Win, Murray Edging Tsitsipas 2-1
Wimbledon
July 6, 2023
Liam Broady led the way on a truly spectacular day for Britain at Wimbledon 2023.
The 29-year-old journeyman from Stockport has suddenly hit the jackpot after beating number four seed Casper Ruud.
He triumphed 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, as the highly fancied Norwegian ran out of steam.
Liam Broady stole the show on Centre Court until the evening, when Andy Murray took over.
The afternoon belonged to a beaming Broady, who had told his nervous mother to ‘chill out because I’d already won £80,000.’
Now the likeable Lancastrian can look forward to a six-figure sum for reaching round three,. And some are even tipping him to repeat the upset against his next opponent, Denis Shapovalov.
Whatever happens, Broady and fellow Brit Katie Boulter have already done their country proud at their home Grand Slam.
Boulter will face reigning champion Elena Rybakina in a thrilling third-round match-up after her exploits on Thursday.
Katie defeated Viktoriya Tomova 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 to show she can handle the weight of expectation. And against Rybakina, Boulter will have nothing to lose!
All that British success happened even before Andy Murray took to Centre Court to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the evening.
And the Greek deservedly took the first set by playing the more adventurous tennis, even though he needed a tie-break to do so.
In the second set, it was Tsitsipas again who seemed to have adapted to grass at last by displaying an astonishing array of drop shots and subtle volleys at the net.
Murray stayed back and traded, relying on his serve to give him an effective foundation when the rest of his game wasn’t quite so clean.
And it was the Braveheart Scot’s warrior spirit that began to tel lin the second breaker, which Murray knew he had to win.
Having done so, Andy broke early in the third and narrowly consolidated, clinging on to that advantage until he served out for 2-1.
Not before Murray suffered a nasty fall and screamed in agony as he appeared to strain a groin muscle. With typical dogged determination, he found the precious serve to put him ahead for the overnight break.
The home favourite leads 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 at this stage – but the match is far from over.
Who knows what shape Andy Murray will be in tomorrow? But we can bet he will do everything in his power to progress, despite that apparent injury.
Liam Broady, Katie Boulter and Andy Murray all thrilled Wimbledon 2023 in a single incredible day.
What more drama can we expect from week one? There will be plenty more to mesmerise us all before we reach the business end of the tournament.
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