Henry Searle ends Britain’s 61-year wait for a Wimbledon boys’ singles champion

Henry Searle holds aloft the boys’ singles trophy.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

CNN
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The wait has been long but Britain finally has a Wimbledon boys’ singles champion.

Unseeded 17-year-old Henry Searle won the title in straight sets on Sunday, becoming the first Briton to do so since 1962.

Stanley Matthews, the son and namesake of the famous English footballer, was the last Briton to win the title.

Searle beat Yaroslav Demin, the fifth seed, 6-4 6-4 on Court One and is the first Briton to win a Wimbledon junior title since Laura Robson in 2008.

He didn’t drop a set in the tournament and impressively secured victory in 83 minutes.

“It’s amazing to play on Court One,” said Searle, per Reuters.

“It’s a pretty special feeling, it’s not going to come too often. I’m going to enjoy it in front of this crowd. I’ll keep working hard and we’ll see what happens.”