Nicholas serving upatreat atSW19

Rising Perthshire tennis star Nicholas Bradley has been treated to the experience of a lifetime at Wimbledon.

The young Auchterarder ace travelled to London to compete in the prestigious Road to Wimbledon under-14 finals.

Nicholas, a pupil at Strathallan School, qualified for the event after coming through a north of Scotland qualifier at Elgin in June.

And he wasted little time in serving up a storm at SW19, going unbeaten in his group stage to comfortably advance to the knockout section.

Wins against Samuel Clague, Max Thompson and Edgar Kharlamov booked a ticket to the last 16 of the tournament.

Nicholas then battled back to defeat Hugo Dunn yesterday to secure a quarter final place.

Road to Wimbledon is an initiative staged to promote both junior and grass court tennis in the UK and across the globe.

“It’s been the best experience I’ve had in tennis,” Nicholas explained.

“We have been treated like professional players from the moment we arrived.

“Using the players’ locker rooms and all the facilities has been incredible.

“And meeting and spending time with international and UK players has been so much fun.

“Playing on the world’s most famous courts has been exceptional and I think grass is now my favourite surface.”

Nicholas has also been involved in the doubles event, playing alongside fellow Scottish youngster Scott Morrison.

Proud dad Drew said: “Generally the Scottish players involved in the tournament have progressed very well, proving that the standard of junior tennis in Scotland is very high.”

The tournament reaches a conclusion on Saturday.