Liam Broady has banned his dad from coming to Wimbledon to support him in case he jinxes his best ever run in the tournament. The Stockport-based left-hander takes on Alex de Minaur of Australia first on no.1 Court having reached the third round for the first time at SW19.
But dad Simon will have to watch on the television as the 28-year-old told him in no uncertain terms that he does not want the distraction of having him in the players’ box whenever he looks up.
“My dad is the reason I play tennis,” Broady said. “He started tennis when he was 18 which was late in his career and he wanted us kids to go above and beyond anything he had done and tennis was the chosen path.
“The problem I have had this week is trying to keep him away now I’m winning.
“But he will stay back in Stockport. He had not watched in so long it has become the routine. So especially in the third round you don’t want to upset the rhythm
“If I win, I probably will get him a ticket, but for next year’s Wimbledon. But he’s banned for this Wimbledon!”
Mum Shirley, too, will also be missing the action – although that is out of choice.
“The entire rest of my family hates watching me win, even on the telly,” Broady added. “She goes out into the back garden and waters the plants and stays away from the television – although I think the plants must be flooded after Thursday’s game.
“Even my sister Naomi struggles to watch, but she will be in the box.”
De Minaur’s box, on the other hand, will contain one of Broady’s closest friends, Katie Boulter, who is now the Australian’s girlfriend.
“I have known her probably over 15 years now, which seems crazy, and when we went to the National Tennis Centre at 18 we all stayed in the dorms there,” Norrie said.
“We got up to all sorts of mischief – you know what kids get up to – but I cannot get anybody into trouble.”
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