BOURNEMOUTH tennis star Louis Davey will not forget his outing at the All England Club in a hurry after starring in front of former British number one Tim Henman as part of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & Under Challenge finals.

After triumphing at the regional finals, Bournemouth Collegiate School pupil Davey took to the famous grass courts looking to be crowned national champion.

The teenager managed to make it all the way to finals day where he was watched closely, among others, by former world number one Henman.

Unfortunately for Davey, it was Harry Lazell and Joel Pierleoni who emerged triumphant in a thrilling tie-break to lift the trophy but the 13-year-old still left the venue with his head held high.

“It was amazing playing at Wimbledon, it was a great experience and the courts were really nice to play on,” said Davey, who trains at West Hants Club.

“Roger Federer and Andy Murray have played here, so just being here felt amazing.

“Not many people from home knew I was coming here, but they’d probably think it was pretty cool if they did.”

The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & 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 while it also supports the Wimbledon Foundation through the Ticket Resale Scheme – with the bank matching donations made by the public.

Each year over 10,000 youngsters take part in the series of national tennis tournaments, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars.

Henman was also on hand to help out with the presentations and he admitted he had been impressed with what he had seen.

“I’ve been coming to this event for the past 10 years, the enthusiasm of the kids is always the same but every year the standard gets better and better," he said. “The ethos of the event is about grassroots, getting more and more people playing the game. “For them this is a great experience, this can hopefully inspire some of them to want to come here in the future and that it’s not just a pipe dream. “Our 2014 winner, Siddhant Banthia, was at Junior Wimbledon this year, we’re not only giving them the opportunity but the belief that if they work hard, they can go places."

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 through the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge. @HSBC_sport