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World of Tennis: Liam Broady is the next junior star to watch

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Three years ago on the first Friday morning of Wimbledon curiosity took me to Roehampton to look at an unknown British junior playing in the final of a high grade junior event at the windswept Bank of England ground.

Laura Robson lost that day to America's Melanie Oudin, but my informant had been right about her potential and eight days later she became nationally known when she won the junior Wimbledon championships at 14.

On Friday, then, it was interesting to note that Liam Broady won the boys' final of that same event at Roehampton, his second significant junior title in the last two months.

Bright spark: Broady is starting to make waves in world of tennis

Bright spark: Broady is starting to make waves in world of tennis

He will be playing in the Wimbledon boys' event this week and although he is not ridiculously young like Laura was, there is an interesting biographical detail about the 17-year-old.

This is that he grew up barely a serve and volley from where Fred Perry was born, in Stockport. Expect that one to get a few more airings as his career progresses as we hope it does.

There is a long way to go and you do not want to burden Liam, whose sister Naomi is one of Britain's top female players, with unrealistic expectations, but his left-handed game has genuine promise.

There were glimpses of that last year when he won the Wimbledon junior doubles, aged 16, with Tom Farquharson.

And on a wider basis it is important for the morale of British tennis that the junior events see some decent performances, because when the smoke cleared from the first week the scene was not especially pretty.

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Although the home challenge did not collapse in a heap like last year, there were only three home singles wins beyond Andy Murray, and one of those was Brit on Brit.

The parlous state of the domestic game was also somewhat covered up in the three weeks previous to Wimbledon with the performances of James Ward at Queen's and Elena Baltacha in Nottingham.

Eleven boys and nine girls entered the juniors, among them Oliver Golding, who last year reached the semi-finals as a 16-year-old.

Britain's best female prospect below Robson, 15-year-old Eleanor Dean, has chosen to play professional events in Holland - where she won her first adult title last week - on clay rather than attract attention on grass.

There are grounds for thinking that the future looks brighter for British tennis, but for any serious upturn one is probably looking to the generation of Broady and Golding, Watson and Robson. And they need to be given at least three more years.

SWANN STUMPS ALL ENGLAND CLUB OFFICIAL

The England cricketers who were invited to the Royal Box last Wednesday are said to have had a very enjoyable day, washed down with the odd drink.

There was much amusement when extrovert spinner Graeme Swann, needing a refill, made a polite request that a Pimm's be brought to him by someone he took to be a member of staff.

Except that the supposed drinks man turned out to be a very senior figure in the All England Club hierarchy. No offence was taken, I am assured.

Drinks all round: Swann with some of his England team-mates at SW19

LORD'S PUT IN THE SHADE BUT...

The redevelopment of the All England Club has been spectacularly efficient, and stands in contrast to the MCC's shambolic attempts to upgrade the Nursery End at Lord's.

But it has to be said that the new Court 3 is a shade disappointing, especially with its lack of atmosphere-creating courtside seats. Is it really the best thing they could have come up with when starting from scratch?

Actually the court that is really acquiring a character all of its own and becoming a major feature of Wimbledon is No 18. With a steep stand built into the side Henman Hill and over looked by a public standing area way up above, it is a quirky, natural amphitheatre with real personality.

It has also acquired the knack of hosting memorable matches, the biggest of course being the John Isner/Nicolas Mahut epic from last year.

The price of immaculate modernisation at SW19 is that some of its idiosyncracies have been lost, yet in No 18 we are discovering a happy throwback.

PASZEK AND CETKOWSKA SHOW HOUSEHOLD CHARM

The relatively unknown Czech Petra Cetkowska and Austria's Tamira Paszek shared in similar triumphs on Saturday when the former knocked out one French Open champion, Ana Ivanovic, just before the latter upset another, Francesca Schiavone.

They also have something in else in common, having stayed with the same local host family at different times in recent years when they were humble entrants in the qualifying event, before making the big time of the last 16 in the main draw.

Upset: Paszek raised some eyebrows by knocking Schiavone out at WImbledon

In the Dickson household we are delighted for our one-time guests, who both turned out to be extremely charming people.

BRIT OF THE WEEK (AN ANDY MURRAY-FREE ZONE)

It has got to be Laura Robson, for reminding us what all the fuss was about with her scare of Maria Sharapova.






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