American 16-year-old Jordan Lee wins Wimbledon juniors tournament as a qualifier
LONDON (AP) — American 16-year-old Jordan Lee became only the second qualifier to win the Wimbledon boys' title after rallying to beat Cruz Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday.
Lee is the first qualifier to win any Grand Slam boys' tournament since Noah Rubin did it at Wimbledon in 2014.
“Standing here with the trophy means a lot because very few people know what I've been through this past year and a half, dealing with a lot of injuries,” Lee said in an on-court interview. “A year ago at this time I was sitting at home on the couch, didn't know if I was going to play tennis again.”
The 17-year-old Hewitt is the son of 2002 Wimbledon men's champion Lleyton Hewitt, who was in the stands at No. 1 Court. The Australian was up an early break in the deciding set but Lee broke back for 4-4 and then again in the final game.
He sealed the victory with a backhand winner up the line on his first match point.
Lee is the first American player to win the boys’ singles title here since Samir Banerjee in 2021.
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