Remember Rhett Purcell?
He is the former Hawke's Bay age-group tennis representative who in 2006 stated his long-term goal was to be ranked among the top 10 players in the world. Now an 18-year-old, Purcell continues his quest playing in the under-18 events at Wimbledon this week.
At the weekend he was beaten 7-6, 3-6, 9-7 by United States player Alex Rybakov in the first round of singles play. Tonight the Great Britain No1 will start his doubles campaign with fellow Great Britain rep Jamie Melik.
"Win or lose in the doubles it won't matter ... we're just so proud he has reached this level. Junior Wimbledon, a junior Grand Slam remains a real highlight to date," Purcell's mother, Tracy, said yesterday.
A former Greendale and Nelson Park player, Purcell, who left Hawke's Bay in 2008, has also played in Italy and France and has played in seven international finals winning five of them. He has a world junior ranking of 80 and at the Queens tournament held before Wimbledon was a hitter for professionals including the Czech Republic pair of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, Aussie Bernard Tomic and the French pair of Jeremy Chardy and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.