Henry Searle stays on course in bid to emulate Stanley Matthews at Wimbledon

Searle defeated Joao Fonseca of Brazil 7-6 (3) 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the boys’ singles.

Henry Searle defeated Brazil’s Joao Fonseca (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

Seventeen-year-old Henry Searle reached his first junior grand slam semi-final in the boys’ singles at Wimbledon.

Searle, from Wolverhampton, has gone one better than his run at the French Open last month thanks to a 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory over Brazilian eighth seed Joao Fonseca.

Liam Broady and Jack Draper both reached junior finals at Wimbledon in recent years but no British boy has won the title since Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, in 1962.

Ranah Stoiber and Mika Stojsavljevic were both hoping to join Searle in the semi-finals but neither could progress beyond the last eight in the girls’ singles.

Fourteen-year-old Stojsavljevic has had a memorable week on her Wimbledon debut and fought back from 5-2 down in the second set to force a decider against Slovakian fifth seed Renata Jamrichova only to lose out 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-1.

Stoiber, 18, also took the opening set against Czech Nikola Bartunkova, who is in the top 350 of the women’s rankings, but fell to a 1-6 6-1 6-2 defeat.

British duo Isabelle Lacy and Hannah Klugman, meanwhile, are through to the semi-finals of the girls’ doubles.