Britain’s Patrick Brady has great success at Wimbledon despite battling an injury.
Patrick, who is from Dartford, was one of only 2 British boys to make it through qualifying to secure a place in the main boys draw, after strong performances that saw him beat the world number 75 and 47. Patrick then went on to defeat Czech star Adam Jurajda, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 who is ranked 40th in the world and nearly two years older.
Patrick also came through qualifying to reach the quarterfinals of the LTA British Tour event at Frinton in June, before having to withdraw to focus on Wimbledon. “It was positive that I got through the events whilst being injured, but I feel like I can do better tennis-wise. I feel like I can play better but I need time on the match court and I need more time on the practice court, and I’ve had neither in the last few months because of Covid-19 and the difficulty with travelling.
“To play at Wimbledon is what I have dreamed of since I was five, six years old. So, when you go onto those courts, it is hard. “The first few games my arms were shivering I was so nervous, but after a while I settled down. I started to feel more comfortable with the fans and fed off them, rather than feeling anxious. “I had a few families and friends watching from Dartford, so that was great.
“My team have done so much to get me here, so it was nice to give something back. “I don’t think it is important to think about winning it. I just want to focus on my game plan each match and do what I can, but I now want more.
“At the moment I just train with my brother at David Lloyd. But I have a good team who help, I do not have a real base though, so it would be nice to get that sorted but it requires funding.
“Nadal was my hero growing up, but in terms of modelling my game, I always look at Djokovic and Andy (Murray) as well. I want to try and dictate points from the baseline, and if you’re wanting to play that way there is no-one better to try and learn from, and Novak was gracious enough to give me some pointers during Wimbledon which was also an amazing experience.”
You can keep up to date with all the latest from Patrick by following @patrick_brady04 on Instagram.