British wildcard Liam Broady has pulled off the biggest shock at Wimbledon so far after eliminating fourth seed Casper Ruud in the second round.
World No.142 Broady recovered from a break down to take the first set much to the delight of the home crowd on Centre Court – and despite Ruud fighting back to win the next two sets – the 29-year-old claimed the fourth to force a decider.
Broady then held his nerve to come out on top 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 in an absolute classic and he will next face 26th-seed Denis Shapovalov in the third round.
Ruud finished as a French Open runner-up last month and is a three-time Grand Slam finalist but endured a miserable afternoon as he again struggled on grass.
The Norwegian has made no secret of his unsuitability to the surface and has previously joked that grass is only good for golf.
Broady could not hide his delight after beating Ruud and in his on-court interview he said: ‘When I went to bed last night, I thought about what I would say if I won the match… I don’t really know what to say now!
‘It’s a pretty terrifying and exhilarating experience to play on Centre Court at Wimbledon. It’s been my dream since I was five-years-old.
‘I said to my mum this morning, she doesn’t like watching, I said, ‘look, I’ve already won £80,000 this week’ – so you can chill out a bit!’
Asked about his next opponent Shapovalov, Broady added: ‘He’s one of the best players in the world, as Casper is.
‘He’s an amazing player but with a crowd like this… why not have a go again?’
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