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17-year-old Samir wins boys' singles title

Wimbledon: Samir Banerjee beats Victor Lilov to win boys' singles title

The 17-year-old has pulled off something Jaidip Mukerjea couldn’t back in 1960

Our Bureau Published 11.07.21, 07:51 PM
Samir Banerjee.

Samir Banerjee. File Photo.

The Djokovics and the Berrettinis are no doubt hogging all the limelight at Wimbledon, but there's a Banerjee who has made his presence felt on the global map of tennis. 17-year-old Samir Banerjee has clinched the boys' singles Wimbledon title, beating compatriot Victor Lilov 7-5, 6-3 in the summit showdown, and this is no mean feat. Banerjee has pulled off something even Jaidip Mukerjea couldn’t back in 1960, where he ended as a runner-up in the boys' singles category.

On Saturday, the teenager won 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2 in the semi-finals against France’s Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg.

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Playing only his second junior Grand Slam, 17-year-old won 7-5 6-3 in the final that lasted in one hour 22 minutes. Banerjee's parents had moved to America in 1980s.

At the junior French Open, Banerjee, ranked 19 in the world, had crashed out in the first round. India has been struggling to field a worthy contender at junior Grand Slams for some time now. Due to lack of a robust domestic circuit and not having enough competitions at home to earn world ranking points, India has been struggling to create the next crop of youngsters.

Yuki Bhambri was the last Indian to win a junior singles title when he triumphed at the Australian Open in 2009 while Sumit Nagal won the Wimbledon boys doubles in 2015 with Vietnam's Ly Hoang Nam. Ramanathan Krishnan was the first Indian to win a junior major when he won the 1954 Junior Wimbledon championship.

His son Ramesh Krishnan won the 1970 junior Wimbledon and junior French Open titles while Leander Paes won the 1990 junior Wimbledon and junior US Open. Paes was also a runner-up at the junior Australian Open.

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