Broady falls but a bright future calls

LIAM BROADY got close, but last night he failed to emulate Andy Murray and last year’s winner Oliver Golding when he narrowly lost the final of the US Open junior event.

The 18-year-old from Stockport, playing in what was his last age group tournament, went down 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 to Wimbledon boys’ champion Filip Peliwo of Canada before a large crowd in the shadow of the giant Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Now he sets off on the hard and uncertain slog to make the difficult transition from a successful junior career, which also saw him make the Wimbledon junior final of 2011, into the higher ranks of the professional game.

Broady (right) could have made it a dream departure if he had taken a break point at 4-4 in the decider against the kind of hardworking baseliner who will try to block his ambitions as he attempts to climb the foothills of the ATP Tour.

Golding is a measure of how hard that will be. he is reckoned to be progressing well since his triumph here twelve months ago, but after playing a full senior schedule in the past twelve months is still only at 500 in the full world rankings.

‘I’m going to play in Futures level events and hopefully I will be back here before too long playing in the qualifying for the main event, but I know it’s going to be tough,’ Broady said.

‘I only changed my serving technique after Wimbledon and I’ve changed my forehand as well so it hasn’t been easy. But I came here wanting to win the tournament. When I got to the Wimbledon final I was just happy to be there.

‘I got myself in a rut after that and wasn’t putting in enough hard work, but I’m doing that now,’ added Broady, who has since joined the Lawn Tennis Association system and moved to London after deliberately opting out.

On Saturday Yorkshire’s Kyle edmund teamed with Federico Silva of Portugal to win the boys’ doubles event, further adding to the recent successes of British juniors on the boys’ side.