Ealing tennis star Luka Petrovic will not forget his outing at the All England Club in a hurry despite missing out on lifting the trophy at the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & Under Challenge Finals.
After triumphing at the previous Regional finals, The Harefield Academy pupil Petrovic took to the famous grass courts last week looking to be crowned national champion.
He put in a promising showing too, winning his first group match against Matthew Gedney 6-3, 6-2, but saw his adventure ended in the group stage.
And while unable to better British number one Andy Murray in getting his hands on a title at Wimbledon this year, Petrovic, 14, insists it has only fuelled his desire to come back to the iconic venue again to play one day.
“Playing at Wimbledon is not like playing anywhere else, when you step on the grass it feels really special and it’s great to be able to play in this tournament,” he said.
“I’ve been to Wimbledon before as a fan but this was something so different.
“I got to see a lot of top players, it was a really nice experience and to one day play where they’ve played on the main courts would be amazing, it’s what I’m dreaming of.
“But I know I need to keep working hard, my backhand and serve are strong but you still have to work on everything if you want to be the best.”
The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & Under Challenge forms part of HSBC’s investment in grassroots tennis; an area of the sport the Official Banking Partner of The Championships has been supporting since 2008 while it also supports the Wimbledon Foundation through the Ticket Resale Scheme – with the bank matching donations made by the public.
Each year more than 10,000 youngsters take part in the series of national tennis tournaments, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars, including Tulse Hill’s Cheyenne Joyce Borg.
Former British number one Tim Henman was also in attendance for Saturday’s finals day and he admitted he had been impressed with what he had seen.
“I’ve been coming to this event for the past ten years, the enthusiasm of the kids is always the same but every year the standard gets better and better,” he said.
“The ethos of the event is about grassroots, getting more and more people playing the game, but we’ve also seen some brilliant tennis.
“For them this is a great experience, this can hopefully inspire some of them to want to come here in the future and that it’s not just a pipe dream.
“Our 2014 winner, Siddhant Banthia, was at Junior Wimbledon this year, we’re not only giving them the opportunity but the belief that if they work hard, they can go places.”
HSBC is the Official Banking Partner of The Championships and is committed to supporting grassroots tennis, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars through the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge. @HSBC_sport
