Tennis: Matusevich shows his promise as he reaches Wimbledon’s last eight again

The 18-year-old pupil at The Judd School in Tonbridge was the last remaining Briton in both junior competitions after he knocked out top seed Holger Rune with an impressive 6-4, 7-5 win.

However, he then bowed out in the quarter-finals – the same stage he reached last year – losing 6-3, 6-3 to the eighth seed Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan – who went on to win the title.

In the press conference after beating Rune, Matusevich regaled journalists with a detailed description of each point and how he felt at the time.

The teenager, who is of Russian descent, also spoke about his interests – which are rather different from those of the average young sportsman.

An accomplished piano player, he delivered a passionate analysis of Johann Sebastian Bach’s use of the D-minor scale.

He also discussed his revision schedule for his A-Levels in Maths, Further Maths and Economics, in which he is expected to achieve A* or A grades.

“It’s a great win, to win against the No 1 seed,” he said. “Last week he destroyed me 6-2, 6-2 so I knew what level he was coming in with, he just fought for every point.

Matusevich, whose paternal grandfather was a world record-holder in speed skating, is a different character on court.

‘I like to show emotions, positive and maybe at times negative. I was getting pumped up and it might have affected the player as well’

He had close friends supporting him, which led to consternation on the court when he went to high-five them before shaking his Danish opponent’s hand at the end of the match.

“They are my mates, I am quite an out-there guy, there are loads of examples in tennis players who are within themselves,” Matusevich said.

“I like to show emotions, positive and maybe at times negative. I was getting pumped up and it might have affected the player as well.

“Maybe now there will be a rivalry. I don’t know if I got in his head, he definitely started talking a bit more than last time. I didn’t really focus on that.”

Matusevich, from Sevenoaks, picked up his first Grand Slam victory last year when he won the US Open Boys’ Doubles title with Bulgarian Adrian Andrrev.

He gained a professional ranking at the age of 16 and is represented by Octagon, the agency who helped develop the careers of the Murray brothers and more than 50 Grand Slam champions including Steffi Graf, Michael Chang and Martina Hingis.

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