LONDON — American 16-year-old Jordan Lee defeated Cruise Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday to become the second qualifier to win the Wimbledon men’s title.
Lee becomes the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam men’s tournament since Noah Rubin won at Wimbledon in 2014.
“Standing here with the trophy means a lot because very few people know what I’ve been through the last year and a half, battling a lot of injuries,” Lee said in an on-court interview. “A year ago at this time, I was sitting on my couch at home, not knowing if I would ever play tennis again.”
Hewitt, 17, is the son of 2002 Wimbledon men’s champion Lleyton Hewitt, who was in the stands on No. 1 court. The Australian got an early break in the deciding set, but Lee broke back at 4-4 and again in the final game.
He clinched the victory with a backhand winner on his first match point.
Lee becomes the first American player to win the men’s singles title here since Sameer Banerjee in 2021.
