By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Liam Broady [WC] def Diego Schwartzman [12] 6-2 4-6 0-6 7-6(6) 6-1
- Broady v Alex De Minaur [19] | H2H: De Minaur leads 1-0
LONDON, ENGLAND – Liam Broady earned the biggest win of his career to reach the third round of a grand slam for the first time at Wimbledon and will now play Alex De Minaur next after the Australian beat Jack Draper.
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Liam Broady [WC] def Diego Schwartzman [12] 6-2 4-6 0-6 7-6(6) 6-1
Liam Broady is into the third round of a grand slam for the first time after earning the biggest win of his career over Diego Schwartzman. The Brit played Schwartzman last year at the same stage and took the opening set before losing in four sets. Broady produced a similar start to the match 12 months later as he dictated the majority of the points with the Argentinian producing a flurry of unforced errors.
Broady went up a double break as he came to the net to finish points off efficiently while hitting powerful and deep shots from the baseline. The Brit was winning all of the tight exchanges as he was dominating the 12th seed, who eventually found some confidence towards the end of the set. That didn’t matter though as the Brit took the opening set 6-2.
The Brit was determined not to make the same mistake as he did last year and kept the momentum going early in the second set with consistently big hitting and piled the pressure on Schwartzman. However the Argentinian grew in confidence from the baseline and he saved two break points to take a 2-1 lead in the second set.
Schwartzman was starting to win the long exchanges and grew more confident inside the baseline as Broady was starting to produce unforced errors. The 12th seed’s service games became shorter and shorter while the Brit’s were longer and longer as he was trying to fend off pressure from the other end.
After failing to break in the eighth game, Schwartzman eventually found the break he was looking for in the tenth game as Broady continued to produce unforced errors. The Argentinian claimed the second set and had momentum firmly on his side. Schwartzman dictated the tempo from the baseline and Broady had no response for the Argentinian’s flawless tennis.
Schwartzman was winning the war of attrition as he extended the rallies and kept on grinding the unforced errors out of the British wildcard. The world number 15 won all six games in a 27 minute third set as he took a commanding two sets to one lead. Schwartzman’s dominance continued into the third set as Broady couldn’t power past his opponent’s stubborn defence.
Eleven games in a row for Schwartzman as he took a 3-0 lead in the fourth set and looked well on his way to the fourth round. However Broady displayed good mental fortitude in his five set win in the previous round and wasn’t going to back down now as he gradually built confidence as the set went on. Broady eventually got the break back in the fifth game with some powerful returning as he forced the errors from Schwartzman’s racket. The crowd inspired Broady to raise his level as he was now winning all the important points and survived a massive test in the eighth game to hold for 4-4.
The tension grew as the fourth set was now heading to a tiebreak as the crowd was firmly behind Broady. The Brit used that energy as he edged a nervy tiebreak 8-6 to claim the fourth set and level the match at two sets all. From then on it was all about the Brit who produced physical and sensational tennis to outmanoeuvre the Argentinian in all areas of the court.
Broady broke three times against a fatigued Schwartzman and edged out one final hold of serve to secure the victory and a place in the last 32 of a grand slam for the first time. After the match Broady spoke about experience and how important mental endurance is in best of five set tennis:
“I do think a large part of it is having been there before, having done it before,” Broady said in the press conference.
“I played a fair few five-setters now. You kind of get used to it I guess. For me a large part of it is being tired and just being able to stay focused. That mental endurance, which is kind of what I was saying after the first round as well, and it happened today.
“I think that’s the great thing about a five-set match, there are such huge swings of momentum and so much can happen. It’s not just done after one swing. There can be two, three, four swings. It just becomes a lot longer of a struggle.”
Liam Broady [WC] v Alex De Minaur [19] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Liam Broady [WC] v Alex De Minaur [19] | H2H: First meeting |
| Wimbledon | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £120,000 |
| First on Court One (13:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
Broady will now face Alex De Minaur who defeated Jack Draper in a gruelling four set match in his second round match.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022)
| H2H: | Liam Broady (WR 132) | Alex De Minaur (WR 27) |
| Tournament Previous Best | R1 (2021) | R3 (2018) |
| 1st Serve % | 65.5 | 60.4 |
| Service Games Won % | 80.1 | 76.9 |
| Break Points Saved % | 60.3 | 59.8 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 47.9 | 52.6 |
| Break Points Converted % | 40.9 | 43.1 |
The statistics doesn’t do De Minaur’s serving game justice as that was a key feature of his win over Draper and something Broady will have to be aware of.
Playing Styles and Prediction
De Minaur was very impressive against Draper, using a good variety of long rallies from the baseline to finish the points off at the net. Now the Australian looks to capitalise on a good run of performances and his momentum to make a run into the latter stages of a grand slam.
Broady will need to serve consistently well and make a good start to the match if he wants to have any chance of winning. The Australian’s tactical variety should be too much for the Brit as this match is likely to be another war of attrition which may see Broady’s fatigue become a factor.
Prediction: De Minaur in straight sets.
Draper heading in the right direction
As mentioned earlier Draper’s Wimbledon is over after a gruelling four set defeat to De Minaur. Despite the defeat the Brit remained optimistic about his future and said the fatigue in the latter stages of the match is natural:
“Guys at the start of their career, it’s a natural progression,” Draper told the press conference.
“It takes time to be physically better and physically able to come to the Grand Slams and compete for long matches back to back. It’s just the process that I’m on. I think over the years, for instance, next year I’ll be a different player again because physically I will have improved. Hopefully I will have stayed injury-free. Obviously I’ve got a lot to work on. That’s not such a bad thing. It’s just going to take a bit of time.
“I’ve had a great year so far. My ranking is going in the right direction. I hope that over the last few weeks I’ve shown that I can really compete at the highest level. It’s a grass court. But I felt like in Madrid as well against Sonego and Rublev, I’ve shown that as well.
“Gives me a lot of confidence. Yeah, like I said, I think it’s just thinking logically, it’s a progression. Hopefully I’ll keep on improving.”
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