Doubles take! Is this teen Murray Mark II?
THE fist-pump, the scowl and the look of sheer determination appeared eerily familiar.
With British No 1 Sir Andy Murray still sidelined by injury, audiences saw a glimpse of the future in young Aidan McHugh yesterday.
The 17-year-old rising tennis talent from Glasgow cruised into the final four of the boys’ singles at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The youngster, who is being mentored by former world No 1 Murray, has become the first GB player to reach this stage of a junior Grand Slam since Kyle Edmund at Wimbledon in 201 .
He beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2 to progress to the semi-finals, where he will play the sixth seed, Taipei’s Chun Hsin Tseng.
Meanwhile, Edmund’s heroic run in the main tournament came to an end when he was beaten in straight sets by Marin Cilic at the semi-final stage.
McHugh said: ‘I know him just a tiny bit. I practised with him just once for a couple of hours.
‘He’s quite a quiet guy but I know he works really hard and ticks all the right boxes for his training and things.
‘The way he carries himself is really good, so he’s finally getting some rewards at the high end of slams, which is what he wants.
‘He doesn’t want to keep cruising at top 50, he obviously wants to keep trying to get higher and higher. So it’s really good to see him doing well.
‘Obviously, it makes me want to do well as well.’
McHugh was one of the first players signed by Murray’s 77 management agency after he practised with him at Wimbledon last year.
He started playing with his GP father Chris and mother Heather, a consultant geriatrician, at Dowanhill Tennis Club in Glasgow’s West End. The St Aloysius College pupil made it into the third round of the boys’ singles competition at Wimbledon last year.
‘It’s really good to see him doing well’