(Reuters) – Henry Searle ended Britain’s 61-year wait for a boys’ singles title at Wimbledon when he beat Russian fifth seed Yaroslav Demin 6-4 6-4 in the final on Sunday.
Searle, who fired nine aces and 22 winners to wrap up the win in 83 minutes, claimed the title without dropping a set in the tournament.
“It’s amazing to play on Court One,” said the 17-year-old Searle, who beat four seeded players en route to the title.
“It’s a pretty special feeling, it’s not going to come too often. I’m going to enjoy it in front of this crowd. I’ll keep working hard and we’ll see what happens.”
Britain’s last boys’ title at the grasscourt Grand Slam came when Stanley Matthews, son and namesake of the Ballon d’Or-winning footballer, won in 1962.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
