RYAN Peniston is eager to savour the best week of his life and has set no limits on what he can achieve at Queen’s.
The 26-year-old, from Great Wakering, progressed into the cinch Championships quarter-finals with a dramatic and entertaining 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Francisco Cerundolo to continue British involvement in the west London tournament.
And, having also had a wildcard card for Wimbledon confirmed earlier this week, Peniston believes the past few days have been his best yet.
“The best week of my life? Yeah, definitely,” said Peniston.
“It has been a rollercoaster so far and pretty much like a dream.
“I can’t really think of anything that tops it.
“To be honest I didn’t really envisage myself being the last Brit.
“We have such good players in Britain and at a deep level but now I am I will take a lot of confidence and will try to keep it rolling.
“I think I am trying to do the same things, trying to treat every match the same and I have definitely taken a lot of confidence from the last few weeks, especially the last couple of matches.
“Yeah, I guess I ask myself why not (win it)?”
Peniston seemed to relish being on Centre Court again and raced through the opening set in 20 minutes with Cerundolo not getting on the board until the eighth game of the match.
It was a case of London buses for the Argentinian, though, who is ranked 44 in the world for a reason and he clinched a key break early into the second which forced a decider.
Cerundolo looked on course to progress for much of the final set after an early break again, but roared on by a buoyant home crowd Peniston fought back from 4-2 down and sealed victory with a stunning winner down the line to reach a third quarter-final in a row after fine runs at Surbiton and Nottingham.
It makes his record on grass this summer 6-2 and it is that type of form which saw Wimbledon hand the former Southend High School pupil a wildcard on Tuesday.
Peniston added: “I think because it was such a big dream of mine to play there and for a lot of the players it is like that so when I heard the news it was a big, big pressure off my shoulders.
“I kind of felt I had done it and got there, so I just took positives from it and when I was on court I felt less pressure for sure.”
Next up for the British number seven is Friday’s quarter-final meeting with Filip Krajinovic, who beat Sam Querrey 4-6 6-3 6-4.
READ MORE
>How it happened: Ryan's big win
>Southend Lawn remember Ryan's work ethic
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