14-year-old Cho Se-hyuk becomes South Korea’s first-ever Wimbledon champ

South Korea now has its first-ever Wimbledon champion in 14-year-old Cho Se-hyuk, who defeated 13-year-old American tennis player Carel Aubriel Ngounoue in the finals of the inaugural 14 & Under Championships on Sunday.

The event, held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, saw Cho winning against Ngounoue in two straight sets (7-6, 6-3) in just an hour and 32 minutes.

“I had only imagined being at Wimbledon, and I was so happy to be invited,” Cho said in a statement on Monday. “And winning the title has doubled my joy.”

Seeded fifth, Cho reached the finals by defeating Bulgaria’s top seed Ivan Ivanov after reaching a two-point lead of 11-9 following a 10-point tiebreaker. He went on to complete the tournament with a 5-0 record.

Cho is currently No. 1,094 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior world standings, which cover all players under the age of 18.

The 14 & Under Championships is a new event under the official Wimbledon competition that now allows players aged 14 and under to compete.

This year, 32 players consisting of 16 boys and 16 girls from 20 different countries participated in two separate events during the tournament.

No. 1 seed Alexia Ioana Tatu defeated fellow Romanian Andreea Diana Soare in two straight sets 14 & Under’s girl’s champion.

Wimbledon, which started on June 27, wrapped up on July 10. The U.S. Open, which is the next Grand Slam event, will run from Aug. 29 to Sept. 11.

Featured Image via JTV뉴스

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