St Albans tennis sensation Nathan Fernandes admits he has to pinch himself in amazement when he thinks about following in Andy Murray’s footsteps by strutting his stuff at Wimbledon.

As the likes of British No.1 Murray, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams recently showed what they can do at this year’s Wimbledon, Fernandes can rest safe in the knowledge that he too will soon follow suit.

The 14-year-old has long been known as one to watch for the future and was at it again as he claimed victory in the HSBC Road to Wimbledon South East Regional Qualifier at the West Worthing Tennis and Squash Club.

Fernandes, a member of Batchwood Tennis Club, will now play in the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge at the All England Club between August 10 and 15.

Murray made history at Wimbledon back in 2013 when he became the first British winner of the Grand Slam in 77 years, and Fernandes admits he can’t wait to grace the hallowed turf.

"It’s good to finally say I will be playing at Wimbledon," said Fernandes, who beat Giacomo Revelli 6-3, 6-2 in the final match to book his spot.

"Last year I lost in the finals stage so I’m happy to go one round better this year.

"It was playing on my mind there, I started off quite nervously, not hitting through my shots but then I started to go for the shots more.

"I think I will be nervous and excited when it comes to playing at Wimbledon. "Hopefully I will get used to it. It’s really exciting to be going where people like Andy Murray plays, hopefully it will be my first trip of many!"

The HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & under Challenge began in 2002 and is an All England Club junior event initiative supported by the LTA - it has now expanded into Asia with a pilot scheme run in India seeing events held in Delhi and Mumbai.

It is the largest junior tournament in the UK, involving some 850 clubs, parks and schools with youngsters bidding to reach the national final at the All England Club.

And Fernandes was not the only representative from the area in action over the weekend with St Albans High School for Girls pupil Yasmin Knowles going in the girls competition.

Unfortunately for the 13-year-old, she was unable to match Fernandes’ achievements, losing out to Eloise Saraty 6-3, 6-0 in the first round, although the experience had still been a valuable one.

"I have only played on grass twice now. The ball bounces quite weirdly," she said.

"Sometimes you get high ones, sometimes you get low ones. The first set was quite good but then she pulled away a bit.

"I need to work on movement around the court a bit. I enjoy tournaments like this, I’ll be back next year to try and win. It would be really good to play at Wimbledon because that’s where all the pros play."

The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & Under Challenge is the UK's largest national junior grass court tournament and forms part of HSBC’s investment in the stars of the future.