HE may have missed out on the chance to follow in Sir Andy Murray’s footsteps at Wimbledon, but Bolton star Josh Banks is not giving up on his tennis dreams.

The Rivington and Blackrod High School pupil had the chance to play at SW19 when he took part at the recent HSBC Road to Wimbledon north regional qualifier at Ilkley Lawn Tennis and Squash Centre.

The 14-year-old was playing for a spot at the national finals of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 and Under Challenge at the All England Club between August 14 and 19.

And, despite falling short of a memorable outing at the famous courts this time round, Banks, who trains at the Bolton Arena, is adamant we have not seen the last of him after losing out to Matthew Cooper 6-3 7-5 in the second round.

“I thought I played pretty well,” he said. “I did well at attacking the backhand and I played some aggressive tennis. I served well too but I’m going to take it away and work on that.

“My opponent was a good player. I train with him quite a lot so I know him fairly well.

“I did the Road to Wimbledon a couple of years ago but I had to pull out because I got injured.

“I was one of the few to play on the grass – and it was my first time playing on the surface. I had to adapt my game a bit. I didn’t play too well in the first set but during the second I started to adapt better to it.

“I don’t play other sports at the moment – I just focus on my tennis. I have plans to become a pro one day, go to America where hopefully I’ll get a scholarship at a university and play there.”

The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge forms part of HSBC’s investment in grassroots tennis; an area of the sport the Official Banking Partner of The Championships has been supporting since 2008.

Each year more that 10,000 youngsters take part in the series of national tennis tournaments, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars to take their tennis careers from the back garden to Centre Court.

HSBC is the Official Banking Partner of The Championships and is committed to supporting grassroots tennis, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars to take their tennis careers from the back garden to Centre Court through the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge. @HSBC_sport