No. 4 seed Casper Ruud drops 6-0 fifth set in shock second-round loss to Liam Broady at Wimbledon
The British player, ranked No. 142, is just 18-27 in tour-level matches.
WATCH: Believe it or not, Broady completes shutout set for second-round win
Take five, Casper.
Unfortunately for Ruud, the fourth seed at Wimbledon, that phrase was taken too literally on Thursday. For in five sets, the Roland Garros and US Open runner-up fell to 142nd-ranked Brit Liam Broady, on Centre Court, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
The Norwegian's loss further opens up the bottom half of the third quarter, which now includes just one seeded player, Denis Shapovalov.
"I think first of all, Liam played really well. He deserved the victory, for sure," said Ruud. "I was pretty happy, especially honestly the first four sets. I started good, then kind of messed up a little and lost the first, but bounced back and won the second and third.
"Fourth just got away unluckily in the beginning. He broke me. I couldn't break back. In the fifth, he was just dominant."
Should we have seen this coming given Ruud's four-set first-round struggle against Laurent Lokoli? The 24-year-old's record in main-draw matches at Wimbledon is now 2-4.
"I mean, if you look at what kind of player he is, what kind of player I am, there's no doubt that I think he's a much better grass-court player than myself," said Ruud. "He has more experience. His shots are much more effective than mine on grass. He moves probably better. You could see I was slipping a little here and there, losing my balance. He has a tricky lefty serve, which is tough on the grass where it skids off.
"To me, of course ranking-wise it's an upset, but going out of the match I consider him a better grass court player than myself due to the fact of the things I said earlier."
Broady, who had never beaten a Top 10 player before Thursday, improves 18-27 in tour-level matches. A frequent recipient of Wimbledon wild cards, Broady has a winning record in main-draw matches at the All England Club, 6-5, and has matched his third-round result from 2022.
On the court, the 29-year-old from Stockport impressed with six service breaks and 56 winners (against 49 unforced errors). He also impressed on the mic.
"Well, I said to my mum this morning, she don't like watching; I said, look, I've already won 80 grand this week, so you can chill out..."
The last British man to beat a Top 4 seed at Wimbledon? Almost exactly 10 years ago, when Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic in the 2013 final on July 7, 2013.