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.”
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.
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 Etcheverry.
Other seeded winners Thursday included No. 14 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 15 Alex de Minaur, No. 16 Hubert Hurkacz, No. 23 Alexander Bublik, No. 25 Nicolas Jarry and No. 31 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
–Field Level Media
