SUTTON Coldfield's Connor Roberts-Kennedy insists he will never forget his outing at the All England Club in front of former British No.1 Tim Henman as part of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & Under Challenge Finals.
The 13-year-old booked himself a spot at SW19 after competing in his county finals but lost all three of his group games to leave him contesting the boys' county consolation draw, where he was knocked out in the second round.
Some 20,000 promising young tennis players from all over Britain competed in pursuit of a prestigious place at Wimbledon with Roberts-Kennedy among the top 144 boys and girls to have earned the right to play at the National Finals.
And, despite failing to follow in 2013 Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray's footsteps by lifting silverware at SW19, Roberts-Kennedy admitted his outing at the All England Club was certainly the highlight of his summer.
'It felt good to be there knowing that so many famous tennis players have played there as well,' said Roberts-Kennedy, who is a member of Streetly Tennis Club.
'I've never been there as a spectator, only watched it on TV along with all the other tennis tournaments, but it encourages me to play better and improve.
'I feel like I've really upped my game and being there helped me play better too. I was first seed in my county qualifier and I just wanted to see how far I got.'
Roberts-Kennedy even got the chance to meet former British No.1 and HSBC Tournament Ambassador Henman while he was playing at Wimbledon.
Henman spent time with the players, signed autographs, and posed for photos with the finalists and insisted he was impressed with the standard on show this year at SW19.
'I've been involved for the 12 years of the programme and it's fantastic to see how the standard has improved,' said Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.
'There are kids that are going to want to play tournaments and compete at a higher level and this is a great stepping stone, to have this experience and learn from the match-play and competition.
'You talk about the mental side of things, and it's that application, going out there and giving 100 per cent is all you can do - those types of values will get you a long way in life.'
The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & Under Challenge is the UK's largest national junior grass court tournament and forms part of HSBC's investment in the stars of the future - http://ift.tt/1uNf1WV
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