“I’m pleased I did myself proud” – plenty of positives for Liam Broady on Davis Cup debut
The result may not have gone his way or for Great Britain overall but Team Bath Tennis player Liam Broady will be able to reflect with great pride on his Davis Cup debut against Spain.
Handed the tough task of playing in the opening singles rubber against world number 21 Albert Ramos Vinolas on his favourite clay surface, Broady produced an excellent, attacking performance to make his opponent battle for more than two-and-a-half hours for a 6-3 6-4 7-6 victory.
Broady, coached by Dave Sammel and Ian MacDonald at the University of Bath Sports Training Village, even had a set point in the decisive tie-breaker before Ramos Vinolas finally took it 8-6.
“I’m pleased I did myself proud and I fought to the end but I’m absolutely gutted I didn’t win,” Broady told BBC Sport.
“The thing to remember is that these guys are only human. I know they’ve got fantastic records on the clay but they are beatable.”
Spain went on to win the tie 3-1 overall, with Ramos Vinolas sealing their overall success by overcoming Cameron Norrie 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 on Sunday.
Britain now face a play-off in September which they need to win to stay in the World Group in 2019.
Marcus Daniell – who, like Broady, is part of the Team Bath International High-Performance Tennis Academy – also played in Davis Cup for New Zealand over the weekend. He and Artem Sitak suffered a shock 6-4 6-4 defeat in the doubles as they were beaten 3-1 overall in China.
It is Anna Smith’s turn to represent her country this week as she lines up for GB in their Fed Cup Europe/Africa Group I matches in Estonia from February 7-10.
