Ali Hassan admits lifting a winners’ trophy at the iconic SW19 was a dream come true after taking part in the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge Finals.

The 14-year-old starlet, who won the boys doubles with Harry Wendelken, admitted he had always wanted to star on the famous Wimbledon lawn courts and follow in the footsteps of the likes of Andy Murray and Roger Federer.

And his opportunity finally came last week having booked himself a spot at the HSBC Road to Wimbledon Regional Finals, making it all the way to the national event where they beat Luo Shuai and Zheng Zhan 6-4 6-4.

“It was great to get the trophy. I was disappointed with my singles but in the doubles it all came together perfectly,” he said.

“I put everything into it and it was a tight, close match. The blue skies and the trophy made it a perfect day.

“It was a great learning experience and a great atmosphere. I definitely took a lot from it all and hope to go on and build from this now.

“Playing at Wimbledon was a great experience, definitely a dream come true.

“It will give me a lot of confidence and I need a little bit more of that and so it will do me a lot of good.”

HSBC Road to Wimbledon offers youngsters the chance to meet their tennis heroes and inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars to take their tennis careers ‘from the back garden to Centre Court’, while it also supports the Wimbledon Foundation through the Ticket Resale Scheme – with the bank matching donations made by the public.

And on Saturday Hassan got the chance to meet former British No.1 and HSBC Tournament Ambassador Henman while playing at Wimbledon.

The former world number four said: “There’s 20,000 kids every year with the Road to Wimbledon and it’s great to see how the standard has improved over the years,” said Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.

“There’s some really good young players and it’s a great carrot for the youngsters to realise they’ve got this opportunity of coming to play at Wimbledon.

“HSBC has been a proud investor in grassroots tennis around the world since 2008 and the ‘Road To Wimbledon’ National 14 and Under Challenge forms a key part of this investment in grassroots tennis in the UK.”

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