Henry Searle became the first British boys’ singles champion at Wimbledon since 1962.
The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton beat fifth seed Yaroslav Demin 6-4 6-4 on Court One to emulate Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed 61 years ago.
He is Britain’s first junior champion since Laura Robson won the girls’ event in 2008 and ensured more home success at this year’s tournament after Neal Skupski won the men’s doubles on Saturday.
It will be a life-changing experience for Searle but he looks like he has the temperament and the ability to succeed in the men’s game after a brilliant campaign where he did not drop a set, highlighted by him sending down a 134mph during the final.
He never looked back after beating the top seed in the first round and the teenager succeeded where Jack Draper and Liam Broady have failed in recent years by winning the final.
On the prospect of what might be to come, he said on court: “I’ll definitely try and prepare myself for it, I’ll keep working hard and see what happens.”
He added: “It is amazing to play on Court One with such a special crowd and manage to get the job done.
“It’s a pretty special feeling and it is not going to come too often and I am going to try and enjoy it. It was amazing in front of this crowd today.”
He was backed by an army of fans on Court One, all decked out in matching t-shirts, and Searle was not overawed by his surroundings and the prospect of what he could achieve.
An even opening to the first set was punctuated by a small rain delay after which a key passage of play occurred.
Searle’s serve came under pressure for the first time in the match and he did brilliantly to fend off three break points.
As often is the case, he had the momentum and then broke Demin, a Russian with a powerful forehand, to lead 5-4.
With the pressure on serving for the set at 30-30 Searle fired a 132mph bullet serve that was an ace and then won the set with a booming forehand winner.
Everything was going Searle’s way and a break in the first game of the second set put him in even further control.
He then showed confidence and composure to hold Demin at bay and sealed the title when the Russian went long on his first championship point.
There was another British victory in the boys’ under-14s as Mark Ceban beat Svit Suljic 7-6 (5) 6-3, but Hollie Smart was beaten in the girls’ under-14s, going down 6-3 6-1 to Luna Vujovic.
Sabalenka sets up Swiatek rematch at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka will face Iga Swiatek in the Madrid Open final for the second year running after beating Elena Rybakina 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in a semi-final classic on Thursday.
Fourth seed Rybakina made a flying start and took the opener within just 25 minutes, but Sabalenka hit back in a topsy-turvy second set featuring five breaks of serve to force a decider.
Both players were imperious on their own serve from there, with a tie-break required to split them. Sabalenka's power looked likely to overwhelm Rybakina as she raced into a 5-1 lead, but the former Wimbledon champion clung on by saving two match points on her own serve.
Sabalenka would not be denied third time around, though, a huge serve giving Rybakina no chance as the defending champion teed up a rematch with Swiatek, who she beat in the Spanish capital in last year's showpiece match.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka's unwanted record
Sabalenka has dropped 60 games at this year's Madrid Open. That makes her the player with the most games dropped en route to reaching the final since the tournament's inception in 2009.
The world number two had to dig deep in a match which saw Rybakina win more total points (99 to 95), but she will not mind one bit if she goes on to capture a third Madrid Open title on Saturday.
Lehecka into maiden Masters semi-final after Medvedev retires hurt
Jiri Lehecka progressed to the first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of his career as Daniil Medvedev retired hurt on Thursday at the Madrid Open.
Lehecka, who beat the great Rafael Nadal in the last 16, had just taken the first set 6-4 when Medvedev threw in the towel.
Medvedev had earlier received treatment from the physio, having seemingly struggled when moving to his right side.
"It's never easy in a match like this," Lehecka said. "If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn't be like that.
"So of course, it's never easy to see your opponent struggling, but at that moment, you just need to focus on yourself, trying to get the maximum level out of yourself."
Lehecka will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who progressed thanks to a walkover following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal, for a place in the final.
Data Debrief: Czech mates
Lehecka is the third Czech player to reach the semi-finals in Madrid, following Jiri Vovak and Tomas Berdych.
Should Lehecka reach the final, he will move into the top 20 of the ATP rankings for the first time.
Swiatek races into Madrid Open final with dominant win over Keys
Iga Swiatek cruised into her second Madrid Open final on Thursday, maintaining her ominous form by beating Madison Keys 6-1 6-3 within 71 minutes.
Swiatek had been forced to fight back from a set down against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarter-finals, but there was no slow start on Thursday as she broke Keys' serve to love at the first attempt.
Only in the fifth game, when Keys failed to convert two break points, was Swiatek troubled in a 31-minute opener, and she carried that momentum into the second set with another early break.
Having eliminated Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur on a deeply impressive run, Keys had no answer for Swiatek's power as she clinically worked her way through the second set, the American's forehand running long on match point to seal a routine win for the world number one.
Having lost last year's final against Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek could face a rematch against the defending champion, who takes on Elena Rybakina in Thursday's other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses Serena
Saturday's final will be Swiatek's 11th at WTA 1000-level, the Pole going all the way on 37.9 per cent of her 29 main-draw entries at that level. That is a better ratio than 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams managed in her glittering career, the American doing so at 18 of 49 WTA 1000 tournaments (36.7 per cent).
Swiatek has now played eight matches in 2024 without dropping a single game on her own serve, a tally only matched by her possible final opponent Sabalenka on the WTA tour.
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