Liam Broady admits he was unable to ride his emotional Wimbledon rollercoaster after falling to a battling third round defeat against Denis Shapovalov.
The world No.142 from Stockport, who is supported by the LTA’s Pro Access Programme, had memorably lowered the colours of fourth seed Casper Ruud on Thursday afternoon but threw away a one-set lead to go down 4-6 6-2 7-5 7-5 against Canadian and 26th seed Shapovalov 24 hours later.
The British No.5, 29, had a golden opportunity to advance to the last 16 for the first time in his career but visibly started to tire after his five-set epic the previous day.
He failed to capitalise on a decisive three-game advantage in the third set as fresher Shapovalov, 24, miraculously turned the tables and dashed the Brit’s hopes on Court 2.
And Broady, who also watched Andy Murray and Cam Norrie lose against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Chris Eubanks on a forgettable Friday in SW19, said: “It’s been a positive week making the third round ranked 140 in the world and to beat some.
“It was difficult going on court less than 24 hours after that emotional match on Centre Court.
“It was hard to go straight back out there against a top player but he was just the better guy really.
“To compete with someone like him I need to be at the very top of my game and an hour into the match, my legs just felt really heavy.
“It was hard for all the Brits to lose on the same day, we should have staggered what days we lost on!
“Cam came up against Chris Eubanks, who is in unbelievable form, and there is no shame in beating beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas for Andy.”
Fresh off the back of his unforgettable triumph against Ruud the previous day, Broady came flying out of the blocks to race into a one-set lead on a scorching Friday in SW19.
But Shapovalov, whose game is well-suited to grass and who reached the semi-finals at the All England Club in 2021, found his fluency in the second to level the scores and peg Broady back.
The Brit grabbed a crucial break in the third game of the next set to put himself in pole position for regaining his initial advantage.
But Shapovalov, who beat Andy Murray at the same stage two years ago on his way to the last four, then rattled off a remarkable five games in a row to stun the Court 2 crowd and surge into the lead.
Broady rallied into the fourth and sought to channel the energy of his home support after saving a break point and holding his serve.
But as the sun set on a disappointing day for British players in SW19, Broady begun to look growingly fatigued as Shapovalov hit the accelerator to book his place in the last 16.
Broady, who will take to the mixed doubles stage alongside Jonny O’Mara this weekend, added: “I’ve got doubles here and then I’m off to Newport to play on the grass in the US.
“It’s a great opportunity and then it’s into the hard court season.
“I think I’ll be around 125th in the rankings, so the hard court season is an amazing opportunity. I could make the top 100 before the US Open and that’s the goal for me.
“I’m feeling good and the last three matches showed me I can compete with the best guys in the world.”
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