Jinks just misses out on dream trip to Wimbledon
MARKET Bosworth tennis starlet Aaron Jinks has just missed out on a dream spot at Wimbledon.
As the likes of British number one Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams prepare for the upcoming assault at The Championships, Jinks had the chance to emulate them when he competed in the HSBC Road to Wimbledon Midlands Regional Qualifier at Billesley Tennis Centre in Birmingham.
The 13-year-old from The Market Bosworth School was playing for a chance to appear in August’s National Finals of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 and Under Challenge.
But despite falling short of a memorable outing at the famous SW19 courts this time around, Market Bosworth Tennis Club’s Jinks is adamant we haven’t seen the last of him after losing out to number five seed Rohan Thawait 3-6 2-6 in the second round.
Jinks said: “Playing at the Road to Wimbledon is great. It gives you hope of one day maybe making it there for the real thing, and that incentive spurs you on in every match you play.
“This definitely isn’t the end of tennis for me, I love it too much and hopefully I can be back next year to try and do it all over again.
“It’s great fun, played with a lot of intensity and playing against people at a similar level to you doesn’t always happen elsewhere.
“I think I played well, the majority of points were rallies which can be quite tiring, but it was a good game from both of us.
“I’m quite a defensive player, a bit like Novak Djokovic, looking to do that more than attacking, and it seems to work for him so hopefully it can for me too.”
The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge, the UK’s largest grass court tournament, forms part of HSBC’s investment in grassroots tennis - an area of the sport the official banking partner of The Championships has been supporting since 2008.
Each year more than 10,000 youngsters participate in the series of national tennis tournaments, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars to take their tennis careers from the back garden to centre court.