Liam Broady shocks the world and beats Casper Ruud at Wimbledon

Casper Ruud has been on a pretty decent roll of late. That was until he ran into Liam Broady at Wimbledon on Thursday and ran out of gas. Broady kept fighting and fighting and taking his chances and eventually dominated Ruud in the fifth set to move on to the third round.

Maybe you haven’t heard of Liam Broady? Maybe neither had Ruud as before Thursday, the two had never met before. This is even though Broady is 29 years old and turned pro in 2014. Or maybe Ruud simply never found respect for his opponent as Broady has never won a tour-level tournament.

But after the 142nd-ranked Broady gave Ruud a 6-0 beat down in the fifth set Thursday, you can bet that Ruud knows Broady’s name now. Broady should feel pretty good about himself as well as Ruud has made three Grand Slam finals recently so Broady didn’t just beat the number 4 ranked player, he outworked him and was the far better player by the end of the match.

Liam Broady defeats Casper Ruud in second round at Wimbledon

Broady’s game is a bit stiff, but he was technically excellent against Ruud in his 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 victory. In his post-match on-court interview, he said he was sure what to say after defeating Ruud. The defeat of the Norwegian was likely not only a shock to Ruud but possibly to Broady as well.

It should also be known that Broady’s laugh is infectious. He seems to act just like anyone of us would in winning such a match. Maybe it’s a bit unbelievable, but one should relish it all the same.

If you are looking for a new favorite at Wimbledon, Liam Broady might be your guy. He plays with joy, wins with joy, and makes one feel a bit better about life after he wins.

He won on Thursday by simply being more polished than Ruud. He won 50 of 69 first serves while Rudd won just 64 of 91. But Broady won an incredible 36 of 53 second serves and he wasn’t having to play from behind at the end of the match. This was likely the difference between Broady moving on and Ruud going home.