Davis Cup Manchester: Liam Broady looks ahead to AO Arena return as he inspires the next generation

Fresh from playing at Wimbledon, the Stockport star was inspiring the next generation on a visit to St Malachy’s Primary School in Collyhurst. 

They are no strangers to tennis having gone down to watch the Davis Cup at the AO Arena back in September. ‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returns from September 10 to 15 with the Manchester crowd again being treated to some of the top stars in the game with Team GB facing off against Canada, Finland and Argentina. For Broady, the event is a great introduction to new and young fans. 

“I think the Davis Cup would be a great way to sort of whet your appetite for the sport,” said the 30-year-old. “Like I said, you can get really loud, you can chant, you can shout. The players are really interactive with the crowd as well, they want the support you can obviously support the country. I think that would be a great way to sort of start.” 

Broady, who lost in the opening round of this year’s Wimbledon after an injury-hit season, got stuck in with the pupils and it was a session that took the Stockport star - who attended Norris Bank Primary School and Priestnall School - back to his early beginnings in the game. 

“It was my dad who inspired me to play the sport,” he said. “He was the one who first got me to pick up a racket, he was the one who kept me playing, even when the going got tough at times. It was his life's work to keep me playing the sport, so if it wasn't for him then I probably never would have played and I never would have kept on playing.”

His Wimbledon may have ended early but Broady is hoping to put a frustrating season behind him as he targets the US Open, another grand slam where the next generation of men’s tennis will be vying for glory. 

“I think I've finally recovered from the injuries that I've sort of had in the first few months of the year,” Broady said. “Men's tennis now, with the retirement of (Roger) Federer and Andy (Murray) and (Rafael) Nadal on their way to retirement, there are a lot of players that are potentially capable of winning Wimbledon and winning other slams – (Jannik) Sinner, (Carlos) Alcaraz, (Novak) Djokovic, (Lorenzo) Massetti, were in the semi-finals of Wimbeldon – now we have all sorts of players. It's the most open I've seen men's tennis in a long, long time.”