While no home-grown players made it through the opening round of the boys’ singles, British teenagers Katie Swan and Anna Brogan continued their smooth progress through the girls’ draw.
The No.5 seed Swan, who was Australian Open girls’ singles runner-up in January, improved on her opening performance of the tournament as she outplayed Deria Nur Haliza 6-1, 6-2 to cruise into the last 16.
Glasgow 17-year-old Brogan, who thrashed top-seeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova for the loss of just three games in the first round, was impressive once more as she got past Ukraine’s Katarina Zavatska 6-1, 6-3.
Both coped impressively with a swirly wind on Day 8 of The Championships and said they are feeling confident ahead of the third round.
“If I play well I think I have a good chance of doing well this week,” said 16-year-old Bristol-born Swan, who now lives with her family in Kansas, in the US. “I just want to enjoy it.”
All very smiley there! Thanks girls... Good luck in the juniors! Work hard and enjoy it. @Katieswan99 @alicol27 @BritishTennis
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) July 5, 2015The teenager admitted she is getting used to rubbing shoulders with the game’s stars on site in SW19, and was thrilled to have received a message from Andy Murray on Twitter on Sunday.
“[Andy] tweeted me and Ali Collins earlier in the week to say good luck, which was really nice,” she explained. “It’s pretty cool watching them practice – Murray, Federer and Djokovic – it’s been amazing.”
Brogan also admitted the world No.3’s success acts as an inspiration, and jumped at the chance to get courtside during Murray’s fourth-round victory over Ivo Karlovic.
“I absolutely love watching him play,” said Brogan. “I managed to watch a set of his match against Karlovic. His passing shots were unbelievable.”
Elsewhere in the girls’ draw, another young Scot, Maia Lumsden, couldn’t join her fellow Britons in the next round as she lost 6-1, 6-1 to American Tornado Alicia Black, who reached the US Open junior final in 2013.
Second seed Xu Shilin, from China, was the biggest casualty as she lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to Russia’s Olesya Pervushina, and the No.7 seed from Canada, Charlotte Robillard-Milette, went out to another Russian, Sofya Zhuk, 6-2, 7-5.
Three of the top four seeds made it through in the boys’ draw, with French No.4 seed Corentin Denolly the exception, losing to American Reilly Opelka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
In one of the highest quality junior matches of the day, No.2 seed Duck Hee Lee from Korea saved two match points to battle past big-hitting Australian Marc Polmans 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 9-7.
Lee began Tuesday by warming up world No.1 Novak Djokovic on Court 14 before the men’s top seed finished off his fourth round thriller with Kevin Anderson, and the 17-year-old played some fabulous tennis under pressure to get through, particularly when he saved those match points on serve at 6-7 in the decider.
The right-hander, who has been deaf since birth, has already climbed to a current ATP singles ranking of No.278 and will take on Finland’s Patrik Niklas-Salminen for a place in the last eight.
No.1 seed and recent Roland Garros boys’ runner-up, Taylor Fritz, had a much more straightforward passage as he beat Japan’s Sora Fukuda 6-1, 6-2. The boys’ No.4 seed Michael Mmoh was another big name to drop just three games as the American brushed aside Portugal’s Nuno Borges by the same scoreline.
Another notable name to make it through to the third round was that of Sweden’s Mikael Ymer, younger brother of ATP pro, Elias, the current world No.133. Ymer, the No.12 seed, beat American Nathan Ponwith 6-3, 6-1.