British debutant Ryan Peniston reveals his favorite tennis player growing up after reaching the quarterfinals at Queen’s Club
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Ryan Peniston and Rafael Nadal
Ryan Peniston, who hadn’t won a tour match before this week, received a wildcard into the Queen’s Club Championships and got the worst possible draw. He faced top seed and French Open finalist Casper Ruud in the first round and to everyone’s surprise, he stunned Ruud in straight sets 7-6(4),7-6(2) to register his maiden tour win.
He then backed it up by beating Francisco Cerundolo in the second round in three sets 6-0,4-6,6-4 to reach the quarterfinals where he’ll face Serbian Filip Krajinovic. In the on-court interview after his victory, Peniston expressed his excitement about reaching his maiden quarterfinal at an ATP 500 event and also revealed whom he idolized growing up.
“Rafa,” he answered and was received by a big cheer from the home crowd. The 26-year-old Brit idolized 22-time grand slam champion, Rafael Nadal, growing up, which isn’t a surprise to many given Nadal’s popularity.
‘I don’t think I want to wake up from this any time soon’: Ryan Peniston
Peniston, who battled cancer at an early age, also said that this week has been a dream for him and he doesn’t want to wake up from this any time soon. He further spoke about the match and expressed how his victory against Ruud gave him a lot of confidence. He also lauded Cerundolo and credited his fighting spirit for crossing the finish line.
“I don’t think I want to wake up from this any time soon,” Peniston said on court. “I thought I took a lot of confidence from the last match against Casper [Ruud]. I came out all guns blazing and then the second set didn’t go to plan. Francisco is a great player. I just kept fighting in the third and got over the line. I’m pretty happy about it!”
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)