Indian-American tennis player Samir Banerjee on Sunday clinched the Wimbledon boys' singles title in her second Grand Slam.
The 17-year-old from New Jersey did not have his coach Carlos Esteban as his wife reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
The teenager registered a 7-5, 6-3 win against compatriot Viktor Lilov in one hour and 22 minutes. He smashed his opponent three times and left the serve only once "It's going to be amazing, this trophy is going to be my focal point, I'm going to watch it and be inspired to keep playing and hopefully become a pro. I'll be back here." He was quoted as saying by the Wimbledon website.
"I really just wanted to win one round, I didn't expect it. I had a tough French Open, lost to a good player. So here I wanted to keep my hopes low so that if I pass them, So I'd be happy. But it was beyond my wildest dreams," he said.
As the coach was not available, Banerjee's uncle Kanad accompanied him.
"My uncle is here, he's not technically a tennis coach, but if these results keep happening I should start traveling more with him," he joked.
"Remember the name - Samir Banerjee. American beat Viktor Lilov in boys' singles final to win his maiden Junior Grand Slam singles title," the championship's official Twitter handle posted.
Legendary Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj congratulated Banerjee.
The 67-year-old, who reached the singles quarterfinals of Wimbledon and US Open, tweeted: "Brilliant win in the boys' singles at Wimbledon 2021 for Indian American Samir Banerjee, 17. Wishing him all the best for his future."
Banerjee's father Kunal was born in Assam, and her mother Usha was raised in Andhra Pradesh, before the two moved to the USA in the mid-1980s and married there. Young, reportedly, will take a break from tour in the coming months to enroll for a degree in economics or political science at Columbia University.
While Banerjee's win is a testament to the system that the US Tennis Association has put in place, India have been struggling to field a worthy contender at the Junior Grand Slam for some time now. Lacking a strong domestic circuit and not enough competition at home to earn world ranking points, India is struggling to create its next crop of youngsters. Yuki Bhambri was the last Indian to win a junior singles title when he won the Australian Open in 2009, while Sumit Nagal won the Wimbledon boys' doubles event in 2015 with Lee Hoang Nam of Vietnam. Ramanathan Krishnan was the first Indian to win the Junior Major, winning the 1954 Junior Wimbledon Championships. 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 the runner-up at the Junior Australian Open.