London: Indian-American player Samir Banerjee lifted the boys’ singles title at the Wimbledon championships on Sunday. Banerjee got the better of Viktor Lilov 7-5, 6-3 in an all-American summit clash.
Banerjee, who reached the final by beating France’s Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg, is the first American junior champion at Wimbledon since Reilly Opelka in 2015, and 12th overall, reported news agency IANS.
Seventeen-year-old New Jersey-based Banerjee completed his triumph in one hour and 21 minutes following a backhand error from Viktor Lilov.
“Growing up, I think college was always in the picture, I was going to use tennis to get to college. Obviously trying to play at the highest level I could and then go to college and maybe after college try to go pro. I think I didn’t really expect this,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by the Wimbledon official website after his victory in the semi-final.
“I’m really happy with my commitment to Columbia, the coaches there I’m really buying into their vision. I think it’s a really good stepping stone. Obviously, with Indian parents, they definitely want me to go to college and not just skip the whole…and just go right to pros. And I think it would be a good character-building kind of thing, because I’m not sure if I’m fully ready to just fully go pro yet, so as of right now, I’m still probably going to go to college,” the teenager had said.
