He may have missed out on the chance to follow in Sir Andy Murray’s footsteps at Wimbledon this summer but Suffolk starlet Lucas Walker insists his tennis dreams still burn brightly.

East Anglian Daily Times: Framlingham's Lucas Walker. Picture: Nick ParfordFramlingham's Lucas Walker. Picture: Nick Parford (Image: Archant)

World number one Murray will once again spearhead the British charge when this year’s Championships get underway on Monday.

Framlingham College pupil Walker had the chance to also join him at the world-famous venue when he took part at last weekend’s HSBC Road to Wimbledon East Regional Qualifier at Gosling Tennis Centre, Hertfordshire.

The 14-year-old was playing for a spot at the National Finals of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge at the All England Club between August 14 and 19.

And, despite falling short of a memorable outing at the famous SW19 courts this time around, Walker, who trains at David Lloyd Ipswich, is adamant we haven’t seen the last of him after losing out to Regan Bessey 2-6 3-6 in the first round.

“I was quite happy with the performance, but there were a few game points I should have converted, that went astray,” he said

“He just rallied me out of the game and played better than I did.

“This is the first time I’ve got this far at Road to Wimbledon, I’ve done it at county level but never got to the regional qualifier before.”

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.

Each year over 10,000 youngsters take part in the series of national tennis tournaments.

Also missing out in Welwyn Garden City were fellow East Anglia players Haadi Shah, Seth Newman and Laurie Cruickshank.

- 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