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Henry Searle

Henry Searle continues dream start to Junior Wimbledon

Henry Searle’s dream Wimbledon start continued as he backed up his singles win with victory in the boys’ doubles on Monday.

After knocking out the top seed in the boys’ singles on Sunday, Wolverhampton’s Searle was back in action on Monday afternoon alongside Poland’s Tomasz Berkieta.

Searle and Berkieta are the eighth seeds in the draw, and were favourites to win their opening round contest versus Canadians Keegan Rice and Duncan Chan.

And the 17-year-old and his Polish partner delivered a classy display, prevailing 6-4 6-4 to reach the second round at the All England Club.

He said: “It’s pretty cool to get a win in singles or doubles, or anything at Wimbledon. It’s a great feeling to have and hopefully I can keep getting that feeling with matches to come.

“They were a strong pair and we definitely had to focus on tactics and serve, and I think we executed that pretty well. Also on return, I think there were one or two games where we were really strong and managed to get the break, and beat a good pair today.

“Any win gives you a bit of confidence as the tournament is so strong. It’s just an amazing feeling to have.”

Searle’s singles campaign will continue on Tuesday, with the Brit taking on Indian qualifier Manas Dhamne for a place in the third round.

And despite a busy schedule he is enjoying competing on two fronts, with home crowd support playing a huge factor.

“I had the same group of people with me today which always spurs me and my partner on,” Searle added. “I could definitely feel the momentum shift in our favour when they and the crowd gets going.

“It’s tough when you’re still in singles as obviously the priority feels with the singles, but I try to enjoy the doubles as much as I can and try to do my best.”

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website

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