Boulter and Broady fly the flag at Wimbledon
KATIE Boulter and Liam Broady will try to emulate Cameron Norrie and Heather Watson by reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon today.
For once British tennis is not relying on a few stars, with the understudies shining on the big stage despite early exits for Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu.
Norrie and Watson both reached the last 16 at a grand slam for the first time yesterday, and if either Boulter or Broady joins them, it will be the first time since 1979 that Britain has had three or more players through to the last 16 in singles.
Boulter achieved arguably the standout result of a strong collective home showing this year by defeating last July’s runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the second round.
That she did so two days after the death of her grandmother speaks volumes about Boulter’s attitude and resilience in the face of adversity.
The 25-year-old has had plenty of that to deal with in the form of a fatigue illness that stopped her in her tracks as a teenager and injuries that have been frustratingly frequent.
A spinal stress fracture in 2019 set her back just when she seemed to have established herself in the top 100, while she was sidelined for three months of this year with a leg injury.
“I think every time you lose a tennis match or every time something happens in your life, you do get a little bit of a reality check,” said Boulter. “I feel like I’m the type of person that will come back stronger no matter what happens.
“I’m lucky to have such a great support around me, and that does make a huge, huge difference. I’ve got great people, great boyfriend, just a great team who push me every single day.”
Broady will go into his contest against Alex De Minaur – Boulter’s boyfriend – full of confidence after his victory over 12th seed Diego Schwartzman.
“I fancy myself against anybody, to be honest,” said Broady. “I actually played Demon in Eastbourne last year. I know his game pretty well.”