Liam Broady’s rocky road to Centre Court stardom: How World 142 dreamt of Wimbledon win since age 5 but family feud with the LTA over sister’s ‘raunchy’ Bebo post saw him withdraw before fulfilling childhood dream with his lucky charm girlfriend watching

• British number five Liam Broady beat Casper Ruud yesterday to win £131,000
• His girlfriend Eden Silva, 27, was cheering him on at Wimbledon’s Centre Court
• Latest Wimbledon 2023 news, including schedule, travel updates and results

British tennis star Liam Broady has overcome a major family feud ahead of the biggest victory of his career so far at the Wimbledon Championships.

The GB number five enjoyed a sensational victory yesterday as he beat fourth seed Casper Ruud in a five-set Centre Court thriller that banked him £131,000.

Stockport-born Broady, 29, completed the historic upset while being cheered on by his 27-year-old girlfriend Eden Silva, who is a model and tennis star in her own right.

After fulfilling his dream of playing at Centre Court, which he has had since the age of five, Broady will today face Denis Shapovalov as he sets his sights on the top 100.

But the world number 142’s career could have ended before it began as a child amid a family row with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) over a Bebo post by his sister Naomi.

Britain’s Liam Broady celebrates beating Norway’s Casper Ruud at Wimbledon yesterday

Liam Broady with his 27-year-old girlfriend Eden Silva, who is a model and fellow tennis player

Liam Broady and his British girlfriend Eden Silva have been together for around a year

Eden Silva, girlfriend of Liam Broady, applauds during his match at Wimbledon yesterday

Silva, who is of Russian and Sri Lankan descent, cheers on Broady at Wimbledon yesterday

Naomi Broady (left) appeared at a commercial event for Samsonite on Oxford Street on June 30 alongside Casper Ruud (centre) – Liam Broady’s opponent yesterday – and Asia Muhammad

Broady’s family had a row with the LTA when his sister Naomi posted a photo of herself aged 17 in 2007 on Bebo posing provocatively in a minidress next to a condom machine in a toilet

Naomi earned a wild child reputation – which she has later rejected in interviews – after posting a photo of herself on a night out aged 17 in 2007 on social network Bebo posing provocatively in a minidress next to a condom machine in a toilet.

READ MORE British wildcard Liam Broady, 29, thanks his supporters after claiming the biggest win of his career by beating fourth seed Casper Ruud as his coach reveals the star’s model girlfriend cheering him on from Centre Court was his lucky charm

The incident sparked the wrath of the LTA, which removed her funding due to ‘unprofessional behaviour’ and put her career in jeopardy.

Naomi and Broady’s property developer father Simon was so appalled by the LTA’s decision that he pulled Broady, then 13, out of the LTA programme – and sold the family home to fund their careers himself in Paris instead.

The family continued its boycott until 2012 when Broady decided to accept LTA funding again – a move that angered his father so much that they stopped speaking to each other.

Broady then enjoyed one of his best years in 2014 when his world ranking rose from 470 to 188.

And in June 2016, Broady decided to reject the LTA’s money and fund himself to settle the family rift – and said at the time that he had finally spoken to his father a few times again.

Yesterday, Broady provided a mixture of flamboyance and grit on court to inflict the biggest shock so far of this year’s tournament in South West London.

But the Manchester City FC fan is also known to have superstitions, and has previously revealed how he tries not to step on the court lines because he has always avoided pavement cracks.

He said: ‘As a kid you say, step on a crack you break your mum’s back. I’ve done that on pavements my whole life… it sort of leaks into my tennis as well.’

Broady also tries to have two to three coffees before a match to boost energy, and has a very specific warm up routine and ritual before matches – including doing mindfulness, yoga and breathing techniques to help with his nerves.

However he has also spoken of his love of playing at Wimbledon, having appeared both in the juniors and in the men’s events.

The London-born model Eden Silva was said to have had an impact on the result yesterday

She, who is a model and tennis player, went out in the qualifiers for Wimbledon this year

After her boyfriend’s win yesterday, Eden Silva posted on Instagram: ‘So proud of you my boy’

2022 — Liam Broady’s sister Naomi (left) and girlfriend Eden Silva (right) celebrate his win against Diego Schwartzman in the second round of Wimbledon in June last year 

The first time he played at the Championships was in the boys’ doubles in 2010 and said in an interview last year that he feels ‘very comfortable’ there.

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Broady added: ‘I know it like the back of my hand. Getting onto a big court and getting the crowd going, that’s one of my favourite things about the sport.’

Yesterday, he was cheered on in the stands by Naomi as well as Miss Silva, who the LTA gives world rankings of 395 for singles and 203 for doubles. She is also ranked 11th in Britain for singles and seventh for doubles.

Silva, who is of Russian and Sri Lankan descent and has been together with Broady for around a year, went out in the qualifiers for Wimbledon – but his coach Dave Sammel said she had ‘definitely’ helped him from the stands yesterday.

Mr Sammel told MailOnline: ‘They are very close so it’s definitely a help. You work a long time to have these moments so you want to share it with [your partner]. If your partner is there, it’s nice to play in front of them.’

Explorer Bear Grylls was also in the crowd while astronaut Tim Peake sat in the Royal Box – but Broady’s anxious mother, Shirley, was only able to watch on and off.

Broady later admitted that it took a monumental effort to realise his childhood dream as he beat Ruud to win 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in an enthralling contest that lasted three hours and 27 minutes.

Victory over Ruud, who had made the finals of Roland Garros and the US Open during the past 12 months, was even sweeter Broady given it took place in front of a buoyant Centre Court crowd.

Liam Broady’s sister Naomi Broady was all smiles as she watched him win yesterday 

Broady’s coach Dave Sammel was also in the crowd watching him at Wimbledon yesterday

Also watching Broady’s win from the stands at Centre Court yesterday was Spice Girl Mel C 

Broady’s mother (pictured above) was not present at his game – but he referenced her after it

Reflecting in an on-court interview, Broady said: ‘I would have liked to have played him (Rudd) back home but Centre Court, Wimbledon would do.

READ MORE British star Liam Broady admits winning on Wimbledon’s Centre Court is ‘the pinnacle’ – after the wildcard stunned world No 4 Casper Ruud to reach the third round at SW19

‘When I went to bed last night, I had a think about what I would say if I won and now I don’t know what to say!

‘It was a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience coming out at Centre Court on Wimbledon, but it’s been my dream since I was five years old.’

‘I said to my mum this morning, she doesn’t like watching, I’ve already won £80,000 this week so she can chill out.’

Broady, who currently trains at the University of Bath, lost his only other match on the venue to Andy Murray in straight-sets in 2016.

And he was no stranger to a five-setter at Wimbledon, winning his two matches at the All England Club in 2022 after going the distance. However this year’s progress to the third round came after he beat a far more formidable opponent.

Broady added: ‘I played on Court One in the finals of the juniors (in 2011). I was a set and a break up. I completely choked it, completely guffed it. That has kind of haunted me my entire career, to be honest.

‘It always bothered me coming back, playing on the bigger courts and never really feeling like I was comfortable and had performed. Losing to Andy on Centre, losing to (Milos) Raonic on One, then (Alex) De Minaur on One and never winning so much as a set.

‘That’s why it felt good. I feel like it’s taken a monumental effort for me personally to be able to win a match on Centre Court at Wimbledon. I mean, Novak (Djokovic) hasn’t lost a match on Centre in 10 years, which is a testament to how good of a player he is, as well, but that was a big one for me.

Liam Broady (above) left the Wimbledon crowd in stitches during his post-match interview 

Liam Broady gained the highest profile win of his career at Wimbledon yesterday

The British wildcard stunned World No 4 Casper Ruud to reach the third round at Wimbledon

Broady will take on Denis Shapovalov (above) in the third round on court two later today

‘This is why I play tennis. I’m 29, going into this tournament I’m 150 in the world, I only have so many Wimbledons left in my career. This has to be seen as a reward. You have to take the bull by the horns with these opportunities.

READ MORE Wimbledon 2023 LIVE: Andy Murray resumes his Centre Court clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas with the Brit leading 2-1… but up first is Carlos Alcaraz, with Cam Norrie, Liam Broady and Novak Djokovic to come 

‘I have played on Centre Court now twice in my entire career. The opportunity might not come by again for one reason or another, so I felt more excited than anything going out there.

‘Because as hard as it is, you still have to kind of relish the opportunity. It is the pinnacle of the sport, the pinnacle of almost any sport, Centre Court of Wimbledon. Obviously to have got the result as well is the icing on the cake.’

In trademark gutsy fashion, Broady dug deep to down Ruud but did take a tight first set when he reeled off four games in a row with the home crowd fully engaged.

Ruud has made no secret of the fact grass is his least favoured surface but started to up his level and was edged into a two set to one lead.

After early exits at Surbiton, Nottingham, Queen’s and Eastbourne, Broady was delighted to peak at just the right time in his sixth main draw appearance in SW19.

‘It’s always better to have played more matches on grass,’ Broady insisted. ‘Time on the match court, as Andy has shown in the three challengers he’s won on the grass, is pretty priceless.

Liam Broady and his sister Naomi, photographed for a feature in the Daily Mail in 2015

Broady reveals his tattoos while changing his T-shirt during a Wimbledon match in July 2015

Liam Broady (second right) in his first appearance at Wimbledon in 2010 in the boys’ doubles

Liam Broady, pictured as a child. At 13, he was removed from the LTA programme by his father

‘Even though I maybe didn’t get as many results as I’d have liked to in the build-up, literally the day before my first-round match, I went to bed and I thought, ‘Oh, like I feel good now,’

‘For the first time in probably three months, I thought, ‘I think my game is there now, I can rest,’ which is when you want it to, isn’t it? The day before the first round of a slam.’

Ruud’s own preparation for the third major of 2023 included attending two concerts of The Weeknd and playing golf before he spent time on the grass during an exhibition event at Hurlingham last week.

He added: ‘Of course ranking-wise it’s an upset, but I consider him a better grass-court player than myself.

‘I think if he plays the way he played today, I think he has good chances of reaching top 100 within the year.’

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