After a quick exit in the opening round at the French Open, Indian-American Samir Banerjee bounced back big to become the junior singles' Wimbledon Champion after decisively beating his fellow American Victor Lilov in a 7-5, 6-3 clash that lasted less than 90 minutes.
In only his second Grand Slam tournament, the 17-year-old kept his focus and discipline to win the prestigious and career-defining title.
Banerjee, whose father is from Assam and mother from Andhra Pradesh, is from New Jersey in the US. His parents moved to America in the 1980s.
Following his triumph, people of both countries showered the teenager with applause and praise. "Just looking into the crowd, there were a lot of Indians there, supporting me a lot. I really appreciated that. Some were shouting very loudly, some asked me for photographs afterwards," he told the Indian Express in an interview.
Congratulating the boy on the victory, Legendary Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj said: "Wonderful win for Indian American 17 yr old Samir Bannerjee in the boys singles at Wimbledon 2021. Wish him well for a great future."
However, despite the achievement in the sport, Banerjee is reportedly taking a break from tour to enroll for a degree in either economics or political science at Columbia University in the coming months.
On the stereotype that Indian parents insist on academics at all costs, Samir's father said, "We’re not any different, we want him to do well in his academics.
It’s a difficult sport, but a degree from Columbia will always be with him, it’ll always help him. It has good value," he told the publication.
He will continue to play tennis at the Manhattan-based university, which is highly regarded for its tennis programmes and is home to many former champs of the sport,
Though he can't speak Bengali, Banerjee says he has roots in Calcutta and that they are a part of the success. “I’ve been to India and Calcutta on quite a few occasions in the past. I’ve even trained at the South Club courts back in 2015 and some relatives also stay in Calcutta. So yeah, I do have roots in Calcutta and it’s obviously a good part of this success," Banerjee was quoted in The Telegraph.
He is next eyeing the US National Hardcourt Championship (for juniors) in August, which he says will pave the way for US Open.