Henry Searle is excited to take to the same stage as his heroes as he bids to become Britain’s first boys’ singles champion at Wimbledon for 61 years.
The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton knocked out the top seed in the opening round and is yet to drop a set, overcoming windy conditions to defeat American fourth seed Cooper Williams 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Backed by his noisy fan club consisting of family members and friends from his tennis club, Searle moved to the brink of emulating Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed back in 1962.
Jack Draper was the last British player to make the final five years ago, while Liam Broady also reached the trophy decider in 2011, but both came out on the losing side.
Searle cites Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz as his tennis heroes, and he said: “A few years ago I watched Roger (on Court One) my first time coming to Wimbledon. It’ll be pretty special playing there.
“Being such a big tennis fan from a young age, it’s definitely inspiring and exciting to see those guys playing in such big stadiums and then being able to do it tomorrow will be pretty cool.”
Searle trains at the Lawn Tennis Association’s national academy in Loughborough, while he has also spent time at the academy of Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou in the south of France.
But Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club, where he watched Andy Murray win his first Wimbledon title as a seven-year-old with many of those cheering him on courtside, has also been hugely important in Searle’s journey.
“They’ve been really supportive since a young age,” he said. “They’ve offered free membership for years to try and be as supportive as possible so I’m really appreciative.
“I think they’ve put it on in the bar there. I hope there’s a few people watching. It’s a really cool place.”
Wolves fan Searle also got a special message from the club’s manager Julen Lopetegui after reaching the final.
The Spaniard said in a video message: “We are very proud of you and we hope tomorrow you are going to have a big day. I hope that the strength of the Wolves will be with you. All the best.”
Searle showed a cool head in a first set of few chances, saving the first break point and then creating two on Williams’ serve, which the 18-year-old did well to save.
The tie-break went the way of the British player, though, who opened up a 5-1 lead and did not allow his opponent to claw his way back.
A sizeable crowd was gathered around Court Four and there was another huge cheer when Searle’s pressure on the Williams serve paid off with a first break of serve to lead 4-2.
He then clinched his third match point before celebrating with his jubilant supporters.
In the final he will take on Russian fifth seed Yaroslav Demin, who he beat comfortably on his run to the quarter-finals of the French Open last month.
“It’s definitely a confidence booster and it’s helping me going into the match tomorrow but I’ve got to expect a better version of him,” said Searle. “Obviously he’s won a lot of matches this week and he must be feeling pretty good.”
Isabelle Lacy and Hannah Klugman, meanwhile, can make history by becoming the first all-British pair to claim the girls’ doubles title at a grand slam.
Lacy, 16, and 14-year-old Klugman defeated American duo Tatum Evans and Alanis Hamilton 6-2 6-4 in the semi-finals.
Klugman said: “It is incredible. I think our teamwork and our game has really improved this week. We haven’t really played together before so it is a shock making the final, but honestly so happy to make it. We are going to enjoy it.”
Lacy added: “We have known each other since we were so young. Winning the title would be a great way to cap off the grass-court season.”
