When Novak Djokovic's name was being announced for his Wimbledon 2021, Gentlemen's final against Matteo Berrettini at the Centre Court, at No.1 Court, an American player of Indian origin was wrapping up the first set of Boys' Singles final. (More Tennis News)
Samir Banerjee, 17, slogged it out to take the first set against fellow American Victor Lilov, 7-5 in 48 minutes. But it didn't take much longer to wrap up the match, winning the second set 6-3. The match lasted one hour and 22 minutes.
In the semis, Banerjee beat Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg of France in three sets.
Despite the big win, Banerjee is likely to leave the tour to attend college at the Columbia University, where he is expected to pursue a degree in either economics or political science.
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Banerjee defeated Ecuador's Alvaro Guillen Mezain the first round, Slovakia's PB Privara in the second round -- both in three sets, then beat fifth-seed P Boscardin Dias of Brazil in the third round (6-2, 6-1). He followed it up with a 6-1, 6-1 win over qualifier Mili Poljicak of Croatia in the quarter-final.
For the tournament, he gets 1000 ITF points.
The last time an Indian player won a singles junior Grand Slam title was when Yuki Bhambri (2009 Australian Open). Before him, Leander Paes (Wimbledon 1990, US Open 1991), Ramesh Krishnan (French Open and Wimbledon 1979) and Ramanathan Krishnan (Wimbledon 1954) had won junior singles Majors.
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"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," he was quoted as saying by the Wimbledon website.
"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," he said to a round of applause from the crowd.
Since the coach was unavailable, Banerjee's uncle Kanad accompanied him.
"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," he said jokingly.
Legendary Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj congratulated Banerjee.
"Wonderful win for Indian American 17 yr old Samir Bannerjee in the boys singles at Wimbledon 2021. Wish him well for a great future," the 67-year old who reached singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon and US Open tweeted.
Banerjee's father Kunal was born in Assam, and his mother Usha was brought up in Andhra Pradesh before both migrated to the USA in the mid-1980s and got married there.
