Britain potentially saw the arrival of a future star at Wimbledon with Jack Draper the name being on many people’s lips. The 16-year-old, who is the son of Roger Draper the former Lawn Tennis Association chief, made it all the way to the final against top seed and world junior number one Tseng Chun-hsin and in no way looked out of place or outclassed by the Taiwanese star. People are already certain that Draper is destined for greatness and you can certainly see why.

Draper was looking to end Britain’s 56-year barren spell at Wimbledon in the boys’ singles and he came very close to achieving his target. The last to win the title on home soil was Stanley Matthews back in 1962 and it looked like Tseng was going to run away with the tie early on as he raced into a four-game lead before Draper had even managed to get himself on the score board.

It’s no surprise that Tseng, who hadn’t dropped a single set in the previous five rounds at Wimbledon, won the first set with relative ease 6-1. The Taiwanese player probably thought this would be another straightforward match from there on in, as did everyone watching the action on Court One, but Surrey-born Draper had other ideas and he looked to stage a fightback.

Draper managed to send the crowd wild early in the second set as he grabbed a break of serve. Tseng did hit back but Draper was riding on the crest of a wave and his momentum managed to overcome Tseng’s efforts and he managed to secure victory in the second set after navigating a tie break. The fixture was now nicely poised with a decider needed to determine who would win the boys’ single title 2018. There is no doubt that many betting sites would have been seeing a lot of activity especially in the betting in-play markets. In fact, a Unibet spokesman stated that they were seeing a substantial amount of money supporting the British win.

Heading into the deciding set, it was going to be the player who could remain calm under pressure who was likely to run out as winner, and Tseng was an expert at it. Draper had at times in the match been wayward with a number of shots and had also shown flashes of temper and immaturity and these were to be costly in the final set. It was neck and neck all the way in the third and final set before Tseng managed to get his nose in front to lead 5-4.

Draper needed to hit back, but he missed what you’d describe as a straightforward volley at the net, therefore handing Tseng match point and the chance to wrap up tie. Draper couldn’t believe it and after climbing from the grass, on which he had been lying in disbelief, he was beaten by Tseng’s ninth ace of the match and saw his chances of being crowned champion ended.

While the final had not gone to play for the Surrey-born 16-year-old, it was a remarkable effort to make it to the final and Draper didn’t look out of place against Tseng. He has all the right attributes to be a success in the sport, standing at 6’2” and well equipped in terms of his forehand and serve, but he just needs to iron out his temperament and fondness of showboating.