Britton’s Run Ends

Jordan Cox briefly put friendship to one side to book his place in the final of the boys’ singles tournament after a thrilling 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 16-14 victory over doubles partner Devin Britton.

In an epic two and a half hour all-American encounter, Cox emerged as the eventual victor and remains on course to follow in the footsteps of former boys’ champions Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg and Roger Federer.

There was an explosive start from Cox who raced through his first service game before breaking serve at the first opportunity. After closing out the set, thanks largely to an impressive and reliable service game, Cox was subjected to a much sterner test in the second set as a more determined Britton set about levelling the match.

At 6-6 and with a final place hanging in the balance, Britton lifted his game to edge a tight tiebreak and take the match to a decisive third set. Aside from an opening exchange of breaks, the third went much the same way as the second but at 6-6, instead of a tiebreak, the two Americans faced a gruelling set extension.

Neither boy offered a glimmer of opportunity to the other until the set reached 14-13 in Cox’s favour where the 17-year-old earned himself three match points. But in a remarkable display of resilience, Britton dug deep to turn the game and hold serve.

The feat could not be repeated, however, next time around with Cox again one point away from the final. Britton failed to clear the net with his shot to bring a memorable match to its conclusion.

Cox will now go head to head in the final with Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov for a place in Wimbledon history.