THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2022

Liam Broady

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/L. Broady

6-3, 6-4, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Liam, tough loss. Just give us your thoughts on the match.

LIAM BROADY: Yeah, tough loss. Yeah, felt like I probably didn't settle as quickly as I would have liked. Probably end up getting into the rhythm of it once I was a break down in the third. Obviously against someone like Alex, he's a world-class grass-courter, it's a little bit too late. Then it will be too little too late.

I thought he served really well, especially the first two sets. Maybe I didn't return as well as I can, and everyone knows Alex is a class returner as it is.

If you don't serve well or if you don't serve as well or return as well as your opponent, it's going to be a tough day on the grass.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. In your past few matches before today, you went five sets with Schwartzman and Klein. Do you feel fatigue maybe contributed a little bit today?

LIAM BROADY: I don't think so. I think I probably played my best tennis at the end of the third set. Obviously before the match against Schwartzman I was on the doubles court for almost three hours, whereas yesterday I just did 45 minutes and had an extra day to prepare.

I don't think fatigue was anything to do with it, no.

Q. Tremendous run, but no ranking points. You'll be at the same position on Monday. Does that dampen the experience a little bit?

LIAM BROADY: I think I actually fall back because I lose 45 points from last year. Yeah, I mean, it is pretty tough. I'm not sure if it was the right solution in the end. I'm not saying that anybody's in the right or the wrong about who took points, who gave points and so on. It doesn't make sense to not protect the points from last year at least. I don't know. It was a bit of an odd one.

Like I said, everyone knew coming here what the deal was with the points and stuff. I'd have preferred to have lost in the third round of Wimbledon and not be getting any points than to have lost first round. I can only be pleased.

Q. You clearly don't know the meaning of the word 'defeat'. The spirit you showed in the last couple games, 'too little too late' you said, can you take that on into future matches?

LIAM BROADY: Yeah, I think that's kind of tough because I didn't feel -- I felt like the classic Jimmy Connors: I didn't lose the match; I ran out of time type thing. That's kind of what I felt like a little bit today.

I felt like, like I said, I was bugging Fergus in the chair because I sent a racquet off to get it done a couple of pounds tighter. The first couple sets I felt like the ball was flying off my strings a bit. The racquet only came back once I was a break down in the third. I brought it out and I just felt a lot more comfortable playing. I felt like the ball was doing what I was trying to tell it to do.

Like I said, the change was probably a little bit too late. I know that some of the guys like Borg back in the day used to have like 20 racquets in his bag. I only had three in my bag today. It's tough to get them changed, especially if one of them goes, then one's at the stringer, you start to worry a little bit.

I'm going to maybe try and get a couple more racquets in the bag for the next few tournaments.

Q. Looked like you were enjoying yourself. Are there moments you're going to look back on...

LIAM BROADY: Yeah, in the past I've been on Court 1 and Centre, and it's probably been more of a negative experience because I've not felt like I've been able to express myself.

I mean, I remember I played Raonic on Court 1. I think it was 5-1-1. I felt like I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I felt just awful. Whereas today I felt like I was playing well enough to be able to try and get the crowd involved.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what the atmosphere would be like on Court 1 or Centre, because obviously it's ticketed, which is a bit different to the outside courts.

The crowd were pretty incredible at the end. I mean, they helped me get the break back in the third as much as I got the break back.

Q. A moment in the third set when you stopped the point, the ball on the baseline challenge.

LIAM BROADY: Yeah.

Q. I wonder whether you did that whether you thought it was out because you heard a couple of crowd members say 'out'.

LIAM BROADY: No, I didn't hear that. I genuinely thought it was out, which shows how bad my eyes are. Like you say, it was bang on the line.

It's funny with the Hawk-Eye because sometimes you'll go nuts at an umpire in a challenger or something. Now it's making me doubt myself.

Obviously there's other times when the umpires are totally sure about calls, you challenge, and it's this far out. So, yeah, I mean, it was just one of those.

I was still in the point because I made the backhand. I just stopped because I thought, yeah, that's definitely out, so...

Maybe in a challenger my reaction would have persuaded the umpire to call it, but not Fergus.

Q. I know you haven't got the points from this week, but you have the momentum and wins. Are you hoping to take this into the U.S. swing, get to the main draw US Open?

LIAM BROADY: Definitely. US Open main draw has been a dream of mine for a long time. I have probably had the least success there in my pro career. But in my junior career, it was one of the ones I made the finals at I think.

From the age of like 18 to 23, 24, I played pretty much like 9, 10 months a year on the U.S. hard court circuit, so I do feel pretty comfortable over there.

The conditions are amazing. For you guys who have been to the tournament, it's pretty awesome. You stay in Manhattan, you're on the bus to Flushing Meadows every day. The venue is incredible. Obviously it would be nice to hang around there a little bit more than I usually do, definitely.

Q. It's been a tournament where Heather made it to the second week for the first time. People have enjoyed your tennis so much. Does this give you a sense that the fourth round, second week, is very much within your grasp?

LIAM BROADY: It's funny because if you asked me before the tournament, I would have said no chance I'm making the second week. Coming into today, I thought, Jesus, I'm about to be in the second week of Wimbledon here.

Tennis is a different sport in the sense that it's always one on one so you kind of in your head, it's always a 50/50 shot. I mean, obviously there's rankings and form going into matches. But at the end of the day it's a one v. one sport.

I was desperate to make the second week just because I want as many Brits to do well at Wimbledon as possible, to have the home country representation in the draw. Obviously myself and Katie couldn't do it today. Thankfully Heather is through. Cam is through. I think we have a few of the different dubs guys and dubs girls getting through, so that's good.

Q. Do you feel there's any improvement given what you saw today?

LIAM BROADY: You mean, like improvement within my tennis?

Q. Within your game.

LIAM BROADY: Yeah, I think my tennis is there. I don't think you beat someone like Hubert Hurkacz at the Olympics last summer without being able to play tennis. I think he had just made semis of Wimbledon a couple weeks before. I've had a couple of sporadic good wins throughout my career.

The last year, year and a half, I've had some really good wins. Like I said, I think the tennis is there, it's just doing it more consistently and believing in myself more.

I think the win against Hurkacz helped that massively. Now when I go on court against guys who are in the top hundred, I'm not thinking, This would be a huge win today. I go on court thinking, If I've beaten this guy, the why not this guy?

I took strength from that win from last summer against Schwartzman (sic). Obviously now the win against Schwartzman gives me strength. Having made third round of Wimbledon as well I'm sure will help my confidence to grow, at least, yeah.

Q. Isn't it going to haunt you, the fact that if you had a racquet strung properly...

LIAM BROADY: I did have three racquets strung properly. That's the tension I played at other days. Do you play tennis at all?

Q. Yes.

LIAM BROADY: Some days you have off days and it just doesn't feel right. Actually if I look back over the last 10 years of my career, there's been days where I've just kind of accepted the ball feels a bit rubbish off the strings and just played the match. Whereas as I've grown older, you start to realize if it doesn't quite feel right, sometimes it can be down to the equipment as well.

I was raised on the mantra of: The workman never blames his tools, and all that sort of stuff. Having made third round with my racquets how they were, I was kind of thinking, in your head, get over it sort of thing.

I would have liked to have seen what would have happened obviously if I'd have had a tighter racquet in my bag, which is why I think now I'm going to speak to the sponsor and say, Look, I need a couple more racquets in the bag so I can have a couple of different tensions in there to stop that happening.

Q. Tomorrow Cam Norrie is going to try to make the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Talk about what Cam is like as a tennis player and a bloke.

LIAM BROADY: Who has Cam got?

Q. Tommy Paul.

LIAM BROADY: Cam's obviously an incredible tennis player. I think he's the definition of somebody who squeezes the lemon. He's obviously a fantastically talented athlete and tennis player. The professionalism and focus he brings to his game is incredible. That's why he's ranked where he is. I'm sure he's going to keep going higher and higher. I think he's still only 25 years old. Is it 25?

Q. 26.

LIAM BROADY: 26, yeah.

I just think he's a fantastic role model. He's two or three years younger than me, but a fantastic role model for myself and all the other British tennis players at the NTC who get to see him day in, day out. It's quite incredible the intensity he trains at. I think you can see that when he's on court.

When he won Indian Wells last year, the physicality that he has in his game is second to none. That only comes through hard work.

Q. In Nottingham you said, I hope I'm a late-bloomer, my peak is still to come. Where do you see that peak at? Has that changed this week?

LIAM BROADY: I mean, if you'd have asked me that question when I was 18, I would have said my peak would have been 21. If you asked me at 21, I probably would have said 24. So on. I'm 28 now.

Was it 2019 I think when I decided, Okay, let's give it a year of my life, not go out anymore, not do silly things instead of trying to play tennis. I was thinking, We'll do it for a year and see where it is, try to get to a place where I'm top hundred when I'm 28. Obviously I'm 28 now.

I'm going to retire when my body gives out. It's not when I make a certain ranking, it's not when I make a certain amount of money. I'll play as long as I can play because I truly believe that my best years are going to come later on in my career. Hopefully they come next year, and then last 10 years. In this sport we never know, do we? It's just the way it works. You get some outliers. Maybe I'll be an outlier.