AIDAN McHugh’s storming run in the boys’ singles at Wimbledon came to an end yesterday but even this hard-fought three-set defeat to Matteo Martineau of France meant that the teenager from Bearsden has gone as far in this competition as his mentor Andy Murray ever did in this competition. The future World No 1 and two-time Wimbledon champ played here three times as a junior, losing in the first round twice before reaching the last 16 in 2004.
That is the same stage which McHugh reached this fortnight, prior to going down 3-6, 7-6 (12), 2-6 to Matteo Martineau, an impressive big server from Angers in France who was fully 18 months older. The second-set tie-break in particular, though, was a triumph for the Scottish youngster, who has been hitting with Murray three times in the last fortnight or so, as he recovered from a 5-2 deficit to take it 14-12, the crowd lining Court No 8 four or five deep at points. McHugh suffered a second set-back in the day, when he and English partner Finn Bass lost in the doubles.
“I was speaking to Toby [Smith, my coach] afterwards and the amount of energy I was having to put in to get close to his service games was ridiculous,” McHugh said. “It is obviously frustrating to come up against this kind of opponent, who was a lot bigger than me. As soon as I got into a rally I was able to dictate a few of those points but he got away with it because of his serve. I missed a few volleys early in the third but obviously it was a great fortnight in terms of feeling comfortable here, and will hopefully help me in the future. I would like to have gone further but I am still happy with what I have done.”
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