Henry Searle’s Wimbledon exploits will force his coaching team to “go back to the drawing board”.
The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton became the first British winner of the Wimbledon boys’ singles title since Stanley Matthews, the son of the great footballer, in 1962.
Searle – who hit an incredible 134mph serve on his way to the title – now has his eyes on the men’s game.
But Morgan Phillips, the head coach at the Lawn Tennis Association’s national academy in Loughborough who has worked with Searle since September, will not make any hasty decisions.
“This makes us go back to the drawing board a little bit,” he said.
“When you say that it’s normally not in a positive way, but this is a very unusual ‘back to the drawing board’ situation because we have to reassess the plan and strategy for him going forward.
“Junior tennis is a massive platform going into the men’s game and that’s what I’ve worked in for a good amount of years now, the transition from junior to men’s and making them understand the big journey that’s ahead.
“So there will be definitely an element of him going into the lower tier of professional tennis.
“But also there’s a new system with the junior ranking. If you get top-10 then you get fast tracked into some Challenger events. That’s a big incentive for us as well.”
Searle’s 6-4 6-4 victory over fifth seed Yaroslav Demin on Court One, cheered on by ‘Henry’s Barmy Army’ consisting of his friends and family, capped a hugely impressive tournament.
He downed world junior number one Juan Carlos Prado Angelo in the first round and did not drop a set on his way to the title while barely seeming fazed by the attention or playing on the show courts.
Searle has come a long way since the start of the year, when he was not ranked highly enough for direct entry into the Australian Open junior tournament and his team took the decision to not travel for the qualifiers.
Phillips said: “He could’ve played qualies but we looked at the schedule and thought there would be more benefit in preparing him to go to South America and do a really good physical training block as well.
“We were looking bigger picture all the time with him. At the moment it’s working and we’ve got to keep working in that way.”
He then went to the French Open where he lost to eventual champion Dino Prizmic in the quarter-finals.
But Phillips saw enough to believe Searle had a good chance of a long run at Wimbledon.
“I never had a doubt about his ability, especially after the French Open,” he added.
“What we saw out there was very, very strong. The guy he lost to in the quarter-finals is going to be top-100 pretty soon in my opinion.
“So for me Henry was the second best player in that tournament. I think that gave us a lot of confidence.
“But it was getting him to peak for this tournament and we seemed to have got it right. Full credit to him.”
Top seed Sinner withdraws from Madrid Open ahead of quarter-finals
Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to a hip injury ahead of his scheduled quarter-final clash with Felix Auger Aliassime.
The world number two was due to face Auger Aliassime for a place in the semi-finals after fighting back to overcome Karen Khachanov in three sets on Tuesday.
However, the Italian has been advised to withdraw to avoid aggravating an issue with his right hip, which he says has troubled him throughout the tournament.
Sinner, who is 28-2 for the season and won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year, wrote on X: "Very sad to have to withdraw from my next match here in Madrid.
"My hip has been bothering me this week and has slowly been getting more painful. Taking the advice from the doctors, we decided it's best to not play further and make it worse."
Sinner's withdrawal means Auger Aliassime will advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since 2022, with Daniil Medvedev or Jiri Lehecka – who eliminated Rafael Nadal on Tuesday – up next for the Canadian.
On the other side of the draw, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, with the Russian set to face either Taylor Fritz or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.
Alcaraz sees Madrid Open reign ended by Rublev in last eight
Carlos Alcaraz saw his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open crown dashed on Wednesday, as Andrey Rublev fought back to seal a statement quarter-final win over the defending champion.
Alcaraz had been pushed close in the last 16 by Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday, requiring two tie-breaks to see off the German in three sets, and those exertions seemed to take their toll as he produced a below-par display on Wednesday.
Seven unforced errors from Rublev helped the home favourite take the opener, but he appeared to tire from there as his seventh-seeded opponent fired in 27 winners in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory.
Rublev broke Alcaraz's serve in the first and fifth games of the decider, also serving impressively to deny the Spaniard a single break point after a nervous first hold.
Alcaraz's exit ended home interest in the tournament, just one day after five-time champion Rafael Nadal was dumped out in the last 16 by Jiri Lehecka.
Speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, Rublev said: "I can't believe that I was able to stay calm throughout the match. I didn't say a word and even I'm impressed by that!
"I want to believe that I have been working on this because if not, then I'm stupid. I just thought to myself to keep trying, keep fighting, keep believing in yourself."
Data Debrief: Major scalp for Rublev
To say Rublev entered Wednesday's match as the underdog would be an understatement. Alcaraz was looking to become the first player to win three straight Madrid Open singles titles, and was 24-0 in Spanish clay-court events since the start of 2022.
Rublev, though, was not overawed by the occasion and punished a sluggish performance from the world number three. Wednesday's win was his first over a top-three opponent since 2022, and he will now face either Taylor Fritz or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.
Rybakina saves two match points to beat Putintseva in Madrid Open quarter-finals
Elena Rybakina saved two match points as she outlasted Yulia Putintseva to win a dramatic encounter 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The world number four was on the brink of defeat at 5-2 down in the third set, with her fellow Kazakhstani Putintseva eyeing a third win in as many head-to-head meetings between the pair.
However, Rybakina came up with one of the shots of the tournament on Putintseva's first match point, capitalising on a drop shot clipping the net cord to produce a nonchalant winner.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion didn't look back from that moment on, producing back-to-back breaks before holding her nerve through a tense final service game, converting her fourth match point to wrap up a gruelling two-hour, 48-minute contest.
Rybakina has now won 16 successive matches on clay, and she will face either Aryna Sabalenka or Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Rybakina rampant
Rybakina is the form player on the WTA circuit, with Wednesday's win her 30th of 2024, more than any other player.
She is just the second player to win 30 or more matches in tournaments starting within the first four months of a calendar year, after Iga Swiatek managed 32 victories during the same span in 2022. Swiatek, of course, went on to win the French Open and US Open titles that season.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
