Liam Broady’s bright Wimbledon run ended by ruthless Alex de Minaur

Liam Broady’s determination is halfway to legend here at Wimbledon already. And his dogged spirit shone bright in defeat to Alex de Minaur, as the British No 5 fought each point with the kind of wholeheartedness that has made him such a popular figure at the Championships this week.

A match-up between the World No 132 and 27 proved as tough a prospect as billed, and with Katie Boulter losing to Harmony Tan earlier in the day, the hope of a mass invasion of Brits into week two was over long before the hospitality champagne ran dry. But despite losing in straight sets, Broady forced De Minaur to deliver his best, and gave No 1 Court over two hours of emphatic entertainment.

De Minaur beat Broady in their only previous meeting on grass at Eastbourne last year, and looked the likely winner from early on here. Showing the same ruthless speed that had worn down Broady’s fellow Briton Jack Draper in his previous match, the Australian fired down two aces in his opening game. And while Broady had clearly come to play with plenty of self-belief – as shown by a steaming forehand followed up by a swaggering drop shot – he was broken after 19 minutes. His commitment to the rallies could drag him back into the odd point, but never back into the set.

The 28-year-old gave his all in defence and it felt like he earned every point he won twice over. There were some successes when he drew De Minaur into the net and, facing two break points in the third game of the second set, he summoned three aces to hold serve. But for every hard-fought victory on his side of the net, there was a speedy counter-offensive coming, and De Minaur’s own service games flashed by like title cards.

Broady’s holds became heroic sagas in their own right, and his