Southend's Ryan Peniston books place in second round of Wimbledon
The 26 year old is making his debut at tennis' most famous competition
Last updated 28th Jun 2022
British wild card Ryan Peniston enjoyed a dream Wimbledon debut with a straight-sets victory over Switzerland's Henri Laaksonen.
The 26-year-old from Southend, having a breakthrough summer after reaching the quarter-finals at Queen's and Eastbourne, won 6-4 6-3 6-2 on a packed Court 12.
Peniston, who at 135 is ranked 39 places below Laaksonen, will face American Steve Johnson in round two.
He's had a dream summer so far, making his ATP main draw singles debut at Queen's.
As a child Peniston survived rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, and had to have surgery to remove a tumour, along with chemo.
Speaking after his first round victory Ryan said: "The match couldn't have gone any better"
"To be honest I was chatting with my coach yesterday.... I'm just waiting for someone to pinch me and for me to wake up back in May".
"I'm just loving every second of it to be honest".
"I think (Laaksonen) has a lot of firepower... he can hit winners from anywhere on the court... I like to stick in there and fight every point. That's what I did and it worked".
"It was my first ever five set match, so I was preparing to play five sets.... the fact I was able to get it done in three sets I'm really really happy with".
"For it to happen is crazy for me... when I was younger you always have people ask "oh you play tennis... I'll see you at Wimbledon one day?" I'd always say yeah... hopefully. For it to happen is unbelievable".