Indian-American tennis player Samir Banerjee lifted the Wimbledon boys’ singles title on Sunday (July 11).
Playing his second junior Grand Slam, the 17-year-old Banerjee defeated Victor Lilov of America by 7-5, 6-3 in the finals to lift the trophy at All England Club.
“Remember the name – Samir Banerjee. The American wins his first junior Grand Slam singles title by beating Victor Lilov in the boys’ singles final,” Wimbledon tweeted.
Remember the name – Samir Banerjee 🇺🇸
The American wins his first junior Grand Slam singles title by beating Victor Lilov in the boys' singles final#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Xc3ueczg5m
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2021
Banerjee’s father was born in Assam, and his mother was brought up in Andhra Pradesh before both migrated to the USA in the mid-1980s and got married there.
As per reports, Samir’s grandfather, Late Hironmoy Banerjee, worked with the Oil India Limited (OIL) and lived in Assam. Samir’s father, Kunal Banerjee also born and grew up in Assam and later migrated to the USA.
In media interviews, Kunal Banerjee has credited the sports environment at home to his growing up days in Upper Assam, which, he acknowledged, had a culture of playing tennis and golf.
Reportedly, Samir will take a break from the tour to enroll for a degree in either economics or political science at the Columbia University in the coming months.
Legendary Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj congratulated Samir Banerjee.
“Wonderful win for Indian American 17 yr old Samir Bannerjee in the boys singles at Wimbledon 2021. Wish him well for a great future,” the 67-year old who reached singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon and US Open tweeted.
Wonderful win for Indian American 17 yr old Samir Bannerjee in the boys singles at Wimbledon 2021. Wish him well for a great future.
— Vijay Amritraj (@Vijay_Amritraj) July 11, 2021
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