Canterbury’s Benjamin Gusic-Wan is relishing the chance to play at Junior Wimbledon this summer after he beat Surrey’s Oliver Bonding in a high-quality boys’ under-16s singles Final at the LTA Junior National Championships.

Gusic-Wan, supported by the LTA’s 16 and under National Age Group Programme, beat Bonding 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.

He will now be awarded a place at Junior Wimbledon and he is hoping his experiences playing at the All England Club last year will stand him in good stead when he returns in July.

“It feels amazing to be standing here with the trophy as the Junior National champion,” said Gusic-Wan, who trains at Canterbury Tennis Club under coach Simon Grieve.

“I wasn’t really expecting to beat Olly and I had to be on it from the start.

“Then, when I missed chances in the second set and lost the tie-break, I needed to get back on track and I played well in the third set. When Olly returns hard, I needed to absorb the pace and I feel I did that well.

“Now I will get another chance to play at Junior Wimbledon and, hopefully, I can make progress in the tournament this year.

“I played in Junior Wimbledon last year, but I have grown a bit more and matured since then so let’s go out there and see what we can do.”

Both players in the under-16 boys’ Final are supported by the LTA’s 16 and under NAGP and Martin Weston, national coach of the LTA’s men’s team, believes British tennis has two exciting prospects in Gusic-Wan and Bonding.

“For under-16 tennis, I felt the level in this Final was extremely high,” said Weston.

“Both competed so well and didn’t have too many emotional ups and downs. They were present for the whole match.

“They are both very, very talented and really tough competitors. Hopefully, they will continue to push each other along now.

“This always felt like a 50-50 match and it proved to be that way when you see how close it was.

“If any country had that as their boys’ under-16 Final, they would be very optimistic about the talent coming through the ranks.”

Bonding is awarded a wildcard into the Junior Wimbledon tournament after finishing as runner-up, but his ITF ranking is likely to ensure he qualifies for the main draw at the All England Club.

For the latest news around British tennis and player information, visit the LTA’s website at www.lta.org.uk