Xtra Time Web Desk: India American tennis player Samir Banerjee defeated Victor Lilov in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 to win the Wimbledon boys title on Sunday. The Junior World No 19 had an easy match defeating World No 31 ranked Lilov. The first set between the duo went back and forth, but in the end, Banerjee managed to hold his own to win the set by 7-5. In the second set, Banerjee was in cruise mode as he broke the early serve of Lilov and completed his triumph over the compatriot in just 1 hour and 21 minutes.
17 year old Samir will leave the tour briefly to attend college at the Columbia University – where he will pursue a degree in either economics or political science.
Samir, whose father is Bengali from Assam, has played an impressive brand of tennis on an unfamiliar grass court. The boy from New Jersey was unseeded at the Wimbledon. The youngster is very strong on clay courts, having won four titles in 2020.
The Wimbledon Championships in its official twitter handle shared the news of the boys’ singles final.
“Remember the name – Samir Banerjee. The American wins his first junior Grand Slam singles title by beating Victor Lilov in the boys’ singles final,” tweeted Wimbledon.
The last time an Indian player won a singles junior Grand Slam title was when Yuki Bhambri (2009 Australian Open). Before him, Leander Paes (Wimbledon 1990, US Open 1991), Ramesh Krishnan (French Open and Wimbledon 1979) and Ramanathan Krishnan (Wimbledon 1954) had won junior singles Majors.