Samir Banerjee, an Indian-American tennis player, has won the Wimbledon boys singles title.
This was Samir’s second appearance at the Wimbledon junior Grand Slam.
Samir defeated compatriot Victor Lilov, with a straight sets, winning 7-5 6-3 in the final that lasted one hour 22 minutes.
Samir said on court.
“I really just wanted to win a round, I didn’t expect this. I had a tough French Open, lost to a good player, so here I just wanted to keep my expectations low so that if I passed them, then I’d be happy. But this was way beyond my wildest dreams.”
Samir’s parents had moved to America in 1980s. He has committed to joining Columbia University in the autumn.
At Columbia, Samir will continue to play college tennis.
“It’s going to be amazing, this trophy is going to be my centrepiece, I’m going to look at this and be inspired to keep playing and hopefully come back here as a pro.”
Samir’s coach couldn’t travel with him to the stadium. So, he had to travel to Wimbledon with his uncle Kanad.
Samir joked:
“My uncle is here, he’s not technically a tennis coach, but if these results keep happening then I should start travelling with him more.”
Samir and Victor were contesting the third all-American boys’ singles final in Wimbledon history.
The 17-year-old was previously ranked 19 in the world.
