'It has shown me I am capable' - Ryan Peniston targeting top 100 after quarter-final Queen's defeat

BySportsbeat

Updated 18/06/2022 at 15:41 GMT

Ryan Peniston has his eyes set on the top 100 after his run at the Queen's Club was brought to an end by Filip Krajinovic. "It has shown me I am capable," he said after his defeat on Friday. "I've always had a belief in myself, but having some of the results I've had this week have helped solidify that."

Ryan Peniston

Image credit: Getty Images

Ryan Peniston's 'next stop' is to make the ATP top 100 after a quarter final exit at the LTA's cinch Championships at The Queen's Club at the hands of Filip Krajinovic.

Peniston - who benefits from the LTA's NTC Access programme that supports players ranked 100-200 in singles and 31-100 in doubles - put in another impressive display against his third top 50 opponent in succession, but fell 4-6 6-3 6-3.

But Peniston will still take heart from a momentous week and says it has given him the belief he can compete on a regular basis against the elite of men's tennis.

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"It has shown me I am capable," he said. "I've always had a belief in myself, but having some of the results I've had this week have helped solidify that.

"The next stop for me is to get into the top 100 in the rankings.

"I just have to keep pushing for those goals, but I definitely believe I can do it."

In scorching conditions out on Centre Court, Peniston picked up where he left off from his win over Francisco Cerundolo with a commanding first-set performance.

He managed to break the Serb's serve in the ninth game to gain an early advantage.

But World No.48 Krajinovic showed his experience to level the match, before some strong returning in the decider ended the Essex ace's dream week.

"I came out firing," Peniston said. "And I thought it was a good level match.

"I definitely served well, especially in the first set, but I knew Filip would come out fighting and he played some high level stuff after.

"In the third I managed to break back, but I didn't serve well enough towards the end of the match and he was too strong."

Peniston says his £50,000 prize money for making the last eight, after defeating two top 50 players including world No. 5 and top seed Casper Ruud, will be put into additional coaching support.

"It (the prize money) will definitely help a lot," he added. "I'm going to reinvest in myself.

"It is something I have been doing in the last few years. The next step is being able to afford a physical trainer, which is super important.

"I want as much support with me as possible."

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