I'm pleased for Alex, but Liam's level really wasn't great. I started watching when he was broken back in the middle of the final set. His forehands were short and lacked penetration. I hope he can find some form soon. I'm not sure his decision to play on the dirt this spring was the correct one - he didn't win many points and now has a bucket load to defend in the second half of the year.
In the short-term his ranking will suffer, but I feel that is outweighed by the long-term benefits of spending a significant amount of time on clay at Challenger level