It’s been a summer to remember so far for the 29-year-old from the Isle of Man. This time last year, he was ranked 352 in the world and had just lost out in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying.
Fast forward 12 months later and he’s just days out from competing in his first Grand Slam main draw at Wimbledon after receiving a wild card and is knocking on the door to the world’s top 100 – a true testament to his grit, determination and mentality that has carried him to new heights in recent weeks.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to be top 100, I think that’s the first big goal everyone has. I’ve got to keep pushing and hopefully it’ll come.
“I had a good first tournament at Surbiton and then I’ve learnt from each match on the grass and adapt my game going forward into each match. The little things have added up and now I’m feeling really confident.”
Tomorrow, he’ll face Max Purcell for a spot in the final, after the Australian dispatched Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 7-6(4) earlier today.
Elsewhere, Neal Skupski and Kiwi doubles partner Michael Venus are set to contest their second tour-level final in as many weeks after they galloped to victory over second seeds Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo.
Despite dropping the opening set, the British, New Zealand pair fought back to take the second before battling from 7-1 down in the match-deciding tie-break to eventually seal a 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-8 victory.
“It was very difficult conditions and very windy today but it was a hard first set with no breaks in it” Skupski said. “But then we got a couple of early breaks in the second and then we rolled with the momentum to take that set.
“The match tie-break was very up and down, we went down 7-1 and managed to win seven points in a row to get us back in the match.”
“We had a lot of belief and took it one point at a time, we’re very happy to be in the final again in Eastbourne this week and we’re looking forward to being out there at the end of the week.”
They’ll face a fresh challenge tomorrow in the form of John Peers and Matthew Ebden after they edged the match-deciding tie-break against Britain’s Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara.
Keep up with all the latest results and updates from the Rothesay International Eastbourne
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