Henry Searle will seek his first Challenger title at the Lexus Nottingham Challenger. The 18-year-old ousted Mika Brunold 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 in two hours and 28 minutes for a place in his first Challenger final. The former Wimbledon junor champion entered the special list.
Namely, Henry beame the fifth player born in 2006 with the Challenger final, joining Martin Landaluce, Joao Fonseca, Joel Schwaerzler and Rei Sakamoto. Searle entered Nottingham as world no. 513. With these points, he is on the verge of cracking the top-400!
What looked like a routine win for Searle is suddenly getting complicated as Brunold saves 1 MP and breaks back. But Henry doesn’t think Mika made it to that sharp cross-court BH – “that is two f***ing bounces! (…) the ball’s coming at me with topspin”
📷: @ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/swFg42hUTN— Damian Kust (@damiankust) January 10, 2025
The home star could have sealed the deal much earlier. He led 6-2, 3-0 and served for the win at 5-4 in the second set. Brunold defended a match point and pulled the break back. The Swiss stole the set in the tie break and forced a decider.
Henry Searle© Stream screenshot
Searle suffered a massive blow and lost serve at the beginning of the decider. Did he fade from the court? No, not on the home soil! The young gun pulled the break back in the second game and defended three break points in the ninth game.
Henry secured the tie break 7-4 and booked his place in his first Challenger final at 18. The Briton claimed four points more than his rival. He saved three of six break points and provided five breaks, four in a row since the second part of the opening set!
A teenager served well in the opener, providing four holds and keeping the pressure on the other side. A left-hander earned a break in the fifth game after drawing the rival’s mistake. Searle attacked with his backhand in the seventh game, securing another return game.
Henry closed the opener with a hold at 15 in game eight for 6-2 in 34 minutes. Mika could not find his strokes, experiencing two more breaks early in the second set and trailing 6-2, 3-0 in no time! Searle suffered a break at love in game four.
Henry Searle, Nottingham Challenger 2025© Stream screenshot
However, the buffer was still there, and he served for the win at 5-4. Brunold denied a match point with a cracking backhand down the line winner. He pulled the break back at the last moment and extended the battle. The Swiss trailed 4-3 in the tie break.
He took four straight points and seized a set point at 6-4 after the rival’s forehand error, forcing a decider after an hour and a half. Mika took charge and clinched a break at the beginning of the decider. Searle kept his composure and pulled the break back in game two.
They served well in the next six games before Henry faced the ultimate challenge at 4-4. A left-hander saved them with three winners, closing the game and earning a boost. The set went into a tie break, and the Briton forged a 5-1 advantage.
Brunold reduced the gap to 5-3 before Searle hit an ace for 6-3 and three match points. He converted the second with a smash attack and a forced error, reaching his first Challenger final at 18. Who is Henry’s rival in the final?
Viktor Dursaovic from Norway, who prevented an all-British final after beating Anton Matusevich in straight sets.
Tennis World USA