Wimbledon boys’ champion Henry Searle says his transition into the men’s game will be expedited after his title success.
The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton became the first British boy to win the singles tournament in SW19 since 1962 as a 6-4 6-4 win over Yaroslav Demin saw him emulate Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer.
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.
And he will now look to move into the senior game while still continuing his education.
“I think there’s the jump to the men’s game that needs to be done a little bit quicker. Hopefully that can happen now,” he said.
“I’ll try to continue to work hard to try and be playing at that sort of level in the men’s, as well, in the future.
“The plan is to still do my A-Levels. How easy that will be I don’t know with all the travelling. I struggled enough as it is this year with travelling. At the end of long days it’s not ideal to try and sit down in front of a book.
“But I’ll see what happens. If the tennis is going well enough, I might not have to do them.”
He was backed by an army of fans on Court One, all decked out in matching t-shirts, and Searle has also been supported by his beloved football club Wolves.
And he hopes to be able to show his trophy off at Molineux in the forthcoming season.
“I hope so. I think that would be pretty cool,” he said. “I try and get to as many games as possible really when I’m home. Obviously it’s pretty difficult when travelling and playing tennis.
“I love going there, being with all my mates there. It’s pretty special.
“I think the Barmy Army have been exceptional from the start of the week till the end of the week. Hopefully they can continue to be like that over the years.”
Searle’s ability to serve at a speed that would thrive on the men’s tour comes down to a finely tuned technique and a growth spurt.
His coach Morgan Phillips said: “A lot of that serve comes from his technique and long arms, but a bit of extra firepower is going to put a few more miles per hour on that serve.
“He’s filling out now, definitely. He’s all been arms and legs and that growth spurt threw off his co-ordination as it does.
“But I think he’s getting closer to stopping. And the legs are really starting to develop now, which is super important in tennis. It’s day in, day out for him. It’s no coincidence what’s going on right now. He’s working consistently hard and well.”
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.
Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy came up short in the girls’ doubles final, losing to Czech pair Alena Kovackova and Laura Samsonova.
