Liam Broady says playing against Nick Kyrgios is definitely something different as the Briton had “good fun” in his lone meeting against the Australian. After winning three qualifying matches at the 2022 Australian Open, Broady met Kyrgios in the first round at Melbourne Park.
Playing in front of a sold-out John Cain Arena – which massively stood behind Kyrgios – Broady didn’t have much success as the Australian won with a 6-4 6-3 6-3 win. “It was good fun, stressful, the crowd was crazy, obviously Nick is pretty crazy in a tennis court as well.
Sometimes it doesn’t feel like a tennis match to play with him, it can feel almost like a practice, because the way he plays makes you relax and then he plays really good and focus, and then he drops again. Is like playing a bit of cat & mouse.
It was a fantastic experience for me, and I think it was good to face a crowd so strongly for the other player. It was great to maybe learn how to handle it and deal with it yourself. Specially to someone who is my sort of ranking.
Biggest matches are in that sort of environment,” Broady told CLAY.
Broady had nothing against what Kyrgios was doing
After exiting the 2022 Australian Open, Broady reflected on his meeting against Kyrgios. In his interview, Broady revealed some players asked him if he was “ready for the disrespect out there.” Kyrgios, one of the biggest entertainers in the game, tends to pull off shots that sometimes can make his opponent “look stupid.” But Broady felt Kyrgios never crossed the line in his shots or antics.
“I don’t think it’s personal. If I felt like it was personal and it was malicious, then I would probably feel like he crossed the line, but our job is to entertain the people and for them to enjoy the tennis that they come to watch and he does that and full respect to him.
That’s what tennis is about. I am all for it, to be honest, even when it’s against me,” Broady said last January.
