Liam Broady thanks Andy Murray after qualifying for his first French Open

British world No. 206 Liam Broady thanked fellow compatriot Andy Murray after qualifying for the French Open main draw for the first time in his career. 

Broady, a former world No. 154, handed a straight-set defeat to Australian Marc Polmans 7-6 (5) 6-4 in the French Open qualifying final round.

Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, showed up to the stands to support his fellow compatriot against Polmans.

Broady didn't want to disappoint former world No. 1 Murray.

"I started the match pretty bad and then Andy showed up and I think it definitely did help a lot because he is a very loud supporter and for anyone, when Andy Murray’s watching, it can be a bit disconcerting," Broady said after the match, per the Press Association.

Broady grateful to have a chance to get to know Murray better 

Over the last several months, Broady had a chance to get to know better Murray and several other British players. 

Broady, Murray and a number of other British players competed at the Battle of the Brits during the Tour suspension.

"You can’t fault Andy as a tennis player or a human being,” said Broady. “To get to know him a bit better over the last couple of months has been absolutely fantastic.

“During the Battle of the Brits events and since we came out of lockdown I think a lot of the British players have got a lot closer. We’ve got a couple of group chats on WhatsApp and everyone’s been so supportive driving me on, giving me tactics for the players I’ve been playing.

“The abuse that I got at the second Battle of the Brits especially probably made it easier to remain calm in stressful situations that’s for sure.”

"It feels a bit strange, normally I’m leaving disappointed but it felt a bit different this time. I felt more like I’d earned my place here, I was playing well.

“I had a couple of good results on the clay in the Challengers leading up to this and kind of just grew into qualifying with each and every match and now the tournament can start.

“I think naturally I probably quite suit playing on the clay but maybe I’ve never really approached it with that much confidence because obviously historically British players tend not to do so well on the clay.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/334Q5Rr