England’s Liam Broady rallied to stun fourth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the second round at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Broady, ranked No. 142 in the world, survived 10 aces from Ruud while stroking 56 winners to advance, basking in the victory before the home crowd while encouraging extended applause post-match.
Broady won 62 percent of his second serves compared to just 40 percent for Ruud. Broady also won 72 percent of his net points, sealing his first win over a top-5 ranked opponent.
“When I went to bed last night, I was having a think about what I’d say if I won the match, and I don’t really know what to say now,” Broady said afterward on court. “It’s a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience coming out on Center Court at Wimbledon. It’s been my dream since I was 5 years old.”
Ruud said he didn’t view the loss as an upset.
“There’s no doubt that I think he’s a much better grass court player than myself,” he said. “He has more experience. His shots are much more effective than mine on grass. He moves probably better. You could see I was slipping a little here and there, losing my balance. He has a tricky lefty serve, which is tough on the grass where it skids off.”
Broady draws No. 26 Denis Shapovalov of Canada next. Shapovalov recorded a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7) win over Frenchman Gregoire Barrere.
No. 7 Andrey Rublev advanced to the third round, rallying to a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 win over Aslan Karatsev in an all-Russian affair. The win marked Rublev’s 50th in a grand slam event.
It was a mixed day for Americans in the gentlemen’s draw. Sweden’s Mikael Ymer rallied to stun No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. But No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe reached the third round by beating Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 7-6 (11), 6-4, 6-2. Tiafoe saved four set points during the long first-set tiebreaker.
“I have a ton of belief that I can be here deep in the second week and really contend for this thing,” Tiafoe said. “I’m just getting the proper rest and being a pro’s pro, and hopefully the stars align.”
Tiafoe will face No. 21 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who was a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 winner over Russia’s Ilya Ivashka.
American Tommy Paul, the 16th seed, won in four sets over Canadian Milos Raonic, while Serbian Laslo Djere upset No. 32 seed Ben Shelton 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
No. 19 Alexander Zverev of Germany, finally playing his opening match due to rain delays, cruised to a 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) win over Gijs Brouwer of the Netherlands.
Zverev missed Wimbledon last year with injury.
“I’m just happy to be back at Wimbledon after missing it last year with a pretty bad injury,” Zverev said. “I’m just happy to be on this court again. It’s something that I’ve really missed.”
Meanwhile, a pair of seeded Argentines had their tourneys come to an end. Unseeded Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic bounced No. 18 Francisco Cerundolo in a second-round match. Also, Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka posted a four-set upset of No. 29 Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Other seeded winners Thursday included No. 14 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 15 Alex de Minaur, No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz, No. 23 Alexander Bublik, No. 25 Nicolas Jarry and No. 31 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Three matches were interrupted at the end of the night, two featuring some of the sport’s stars.
Brit Andy Murray led two sets to one over Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-4, and their match will resume on Centre Court Friday afternoon. Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev was up 6-3, 6-3, 4-4 on Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, and Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics led two sets to one over Marcos Giron.
–Field Level Media
