THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 28, 2022

Liam Broady

Press Conference

L. BROADY/L. Klein

4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Liam, tell us how you're feeling.

LIAM BROADY: Feeling really good. There were times where I didn't think I was going to get through that one. A break down first game in the fifth, new balls coming out. Obviously he's got a huge serve as well. I was thinking I might be out of the singles pretty early this year.

Yeah, managed to turn it around, and really pleased with the way I hung in there. I think the five-set matches are a test of mental endurance as much as physical endurance.

Yeah, over the moon.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You said you were thinking you were going out of singles quite early this year. Did you really think that?

LIAM BROADY: Yeah, I thought I was going to be pretty focused on the doubles tomorrow with Jay at one point. I was up a break in the fourth. He was obviously probably thinking the same thing.

I find it funny sometimes in matches when things happen but the other way around. I went a break up first game of the fourth, got broken straight back. The exact same thing happened to him start of the fifth but other way around.

Actually partway through the second game of the fifth when he was serving, I was actually thinking, I wonder if it's going to be like a mirror image of the fourth. Thankfully it was.

But, yeah, don't have to worry about that now. On against Schwartzman.

Q. You played Diego last year. Second round again. You had a good 2020. Seems like you've really kicked on the last six months. Do you feel like he's going to be facing a different player?

LIAM BROADY: Yeah, I'd hope so. I'd hope I'm a year more experienced now. I think I did pretty well to get a set off of him last year. I think I was down in the set I won. I remember it being a real battle, even though we were on the grass.

Now I kind of have a better idea what he's about. I'd like to think I'm a better player than I was 12 months ago. I'm sure Diego probably wants to believe he was a better player than he was 12 months ago as well. Everyone is always progressing or you're going backwards.

I mean, if there's a surface to play him on, it's definitely the grass. That's for sure. Take the chances and see what we can do.

Q. I saw the celebration. A little bit of the Harlow, was it?

LIAM BROADY: A little bit of the Jack Grealish, I guess. Just having a bit of fun.

The great thing about Wimbledon is every court you play on is an incredible atmosphere. Shapovalov and Rinderknech were on the court next to me on Court 16. Sounded like it was Court 1. It was insane.

Some of my most memorable matches have been on those outside courts through my junior years. I actually played Wawrinka on Court 18, Matosevic, my first main-draw win here, which is one of the bigger outside courts. It just feels way more intimate and special.

Obviously the bigger courts are even more amazing. But, yeah, you all know, the magic of Wimbledon, I guess.

Q. It's been a pretty good day. I think it's the first time we've had six British players through to round two since 2001. You've been around for a while now. What is the reasoning behind this momentum? Obviously the younger players seem to be a tight group. I don't know whether you're in the same social group.

LIAM BROADY: It's funny because, like, if you look at the ages, I guess me and Cam, Cam is a couple years younger than me, kind of a similar age group. Me and Cam didn't really grow up together. I would say me and Kyle kind of grew up together in juniors and stuff and moving on through that. Other than that, I think the guys are either quite a bit older, like Evo and Andy, or quite a bit younger.

Actually I was really surprised today. I thought Paul Jubb was older than he is. I think he's only 22, which is a testament to his maturity as well.

For me, the most exciting thing now is that we have like this plethora of talent coming through. All these young guys are driving each other on. We're getting more upsets over the grass than I've experienced in my time within British tennis. I think it's very exciting.

You see these guys, normally you'd see someone going up against a Kyrgios like myself in Australia. You think a bit of a lamb to slaughter. Whereas Paul went out there today and probably comes off court feeling like he could have won it.

We've got another seven, eight Brits that sort of age that are coming through. I think it's an exciting time.

Q. Where does that come from? Is it the LTA? Peer pressure? Is it got a crop of good players suddenly?

LIAM BROADY: I think everyone's -- it's tough, isn't it, with the LTA (laughter). I feel like people are very slow to give them credit and stuff. Things have changed in the last four, five years. The culture there has changed for me. Even down to the little things of bottles of water, people having access to new balls and stuff. The way the schedule is done with practice involves everybody.

I think it's if you're GB, I don't know for sure, GB top 25 can access that. You just tell Matt James if you want to practice, he mixes you in with everyone. Everyone gets to know each other then. The brilliant thing about that, which maybe I didn't really experience when I was 18 or 19, was the younger guys get to play with everyone.

Me and Jubbie will have humdingers, and Andy and Jack Draper will have great practices. Whereas when I was sort of 18, I was just practicing with other 18-year-olds. I think a huge part of it is acclimatizing to the level of professional tennis. They're doing a brilliant job of it.

Q. I suppose if you're going to compete with mature players, you got to be training with mature players.

LIAM BROADY: Yeah.

Q. They'll be stronger physically and mentally as well.

LIAM BROADY: Yeah. I listen to Dan Kiernan - I'm going to plug his podcast here - Dan Kiernan in his 'Control the Controllables' podcast. I think it was the one with Malisse.

Malisse said when he was 16 or 17, Bollettieri had him training with three or four of the world's top 15 for four or five months. He was getting absolutely destroyed for the first couple of months. After that he started to hold his own. Then he was on tour. Obviously Malisse turned out to be a fantastic player.

I think there's a lot to be said for that, especially at such a young age when you're learning so much about yourself and about your game. You have so much time to take the lessons onboard.

The thing is as well, it's kind of like Pep Guardiola at Man City with the youth system. The young players have to be good enough to get those opportunities, right? It's not like one of those top guys will hit with a 14-year-old who can hardly keep the ball in. They're not going to do that if they're not going to get a good session as well. It's kind of a bit of both, I guess.

Q. Who is the Foden?

LIAM BROADY: I'm from Stockport (laughter). I'm just not that young. I've got a wonder of a left peg as well.

But I suppose right now it's got to be Drapes, right, Jack. He's doing excellently. The way he's come on over the last year. He was one that you would have said is a bit of a mercurial talent. He got the win today, right? What was the score?

Q. Straights.

LIAM BROADY: 4-4-4, something like that. Such a mature performance. Fair play to him.

Q. I want to ask you about COVID. Alize Cornet said there were loads of it at the French.

LIAM BROADY: I didn't know that (smiling).

Q. I'm curious to whether you as players still think about COVID? Are you still testing regularly? Is it a concern that if it's flying about the locker room you might spend a bit less time there?

LIAM BROADY: I don't think it's in the locker rooms. I don't think it's that much of a concern any more. I think it's dependent, it's like an unruly class of schoolchildren. If you're given rules to adhere by, then you listen much more carefully. But if you're told you're not going to have to test any more, no one's going to test themselves on purpose and stuff like that.

At the end of the day if you have got a bit of a cold, you play main draw of Wimbledon for £50,000 and a chance at more, I'm not sure some of the lower-ranked guys are going to Scout's honor take themselves away and do a COVID test. That would be a bit stupid in my eyes business-wise for someone to do that. I think that's kind of what's been going on a little bit.

Obviously Matteo and Marin have sadly obviously felt pretty ill, ill enough to withdraw, yeah.