Wimbledon rocked by upset as Brit Liam Broady knocks out fourth seed

One of the world’s top players was ejected from Wimbledon in humiliating fashion, losing the deciding set against a British upstart 6-0.

Brit Liam Broady celebrates after winning his match against Casper Ruud. Picture: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

England’s triumphs on Thursday were not confined to the cricket field. Multiple British tennis players managed to advance to the third round of their home grand slam – one of them in truly astonishing fashion.

World number 142 Liam Broady, 29, has never made the second week of a slam. But on Centre Court, he pulled off the biggest boilover of the tournament so far, beating fourth seed Casper Ruud, who has been the runner-up at Roland Garros twice.

Ruud is the highest ranked player, male or female, to have been knocked out so far.

The match went five sets, with Broady claiming the last two in front of an ecstatic home crowd. And the final half-hour almost defied belief, as the Brit broke Ruud three times in a row to win the deciding set 6-0.

The whole score: 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0.

Broady celebrates after beating Norway's Casper Ruud. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP

An exasperated Casper Ruud. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP

Broady was jovial and charming in his post-match interview, joking that he’d thought about what he might say to the crowd in bed the previous night but had suddenly gone blank.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience coming out on Centre Court at Wimbledon. I mean, it’s been my dream since I was five years old,” he said.

Asked about his heart rate during the match – and that of his family in the stands – he joked: “Well, I said to my mum this morning – she doesn’t like to watch – I said, ‘Look I’ve already won 80 grant this week, so you don’t need to worry.’”

Broady’s next opponent will be Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the world number 29.

“Denis is one of the best players in the world, as Casper is,” he said, prompting a shout of “So are you!” from somewhere in the crowd.

“At Wimbledon, I think he’s made the quarterfinals. He’s an amazing player. But you know, with a crowd like this, I mean, why not? Why not go again?”

Over on Court 12, Broady’s fellow Brit Katie Boulter, who knocked out Australian Daria Saville in a protest and rain-disrupted match yesterday, also advanced to the third round.

Boulter also registered a bagel, winning the first set against Viktoriya Tomova 6-0. The Bulgarian came back to win the second 6-3, before Boulter claimed the decider by the same scoreline.

Britain's Katie Boulter celebrates beating Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova. Picture: Sebastian Bozon/AFP

Earlier in the week, Boulter was lucky enough to have the Princess of Wales show up on Court 18 to watch her play against Saville.

Kate later moved to Centre Court to watch Andy Murray. He will play the fifth men’s seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the most anticipated match of today’s schedule.