As the US Open got under way in New York and with the busy summer season drawing to a close as children return to school, last week was a relatively quiet week on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, with just one Category 1 and one Category 2 event mixed in with a handful of Category 3 events.
CATEGORY 1
16 & Under - BOHDAN TOMASZEWSKI CUP - Warsaw, Poland
With some crucial points up for grabs at the end of the season, some of the main contenders are trying to earn as many as possible in order to secure their spots at the end-of-year Tennis Europe Junior Masters.
Peter Fajta of Hungary scored several important wins on his way to the title in Warsaw. Currently lingering just outside the top 8 automatic qualifying spots at number 10, in the quarterfinals he beat one of his main rivals for a spot at Reggio Calabria, 9th-ranked Oleksiy Shestakov (UKR) 6-2 6-3. He then defeated another Ukrainian, Illya Sarafyn in the semis 6-4 -6-4, before outclassing second seed Matas Vasiliauskas (LTU) 6-2 6-2 in the final. The Lithuanian had earlier defeated Piotr Pawlak in the semifinals, and the two are currently vying for second and third place in the Race to Masters rankings.
Zita Kovaks (HUN) solidifies her top 3 status in the race by claiming the girls’ singles title. She overcame a shaky start to defeat sixth seeded Czech Zdena Safarova 0-6 6-3 7-5. As in the boys’ event, the semi-final had featured a battle between two of the top 3 Race to Masters players, with Kovaks defeating Marketa Panackova (CZE).
In the doubles, Marat Sharipov (RUS) & Shestakov teamed up to defeat Ukrainian pairing of German Samofalov & Sarafyn 6-1 7-5 in the deciding match. In the girls’ doubles final, The Belorussian pairing of Jana Kolodynska & Anastasiya Komar trounced Bianca Behulova (SVK) and Safarova 6-2 6-2.
CATEGORY 2
14 & Under - JUAN FUSTER ZARAGOZA - Benidorm, Spain
In a field jam-packed with Spanish players, New Zealander Corban Crowther blitzed through the draw to claim the boys’ singles title on the Costa Blanca. With victories over three Spaniards and a Briton on the way to the final, the number eight seed defeated another Spanish player, in the form of Alejandro Correa Linares, 6-4 6-3 to claim his first tournament win of the year. The girls’ champion was Lucia Llinares Domingo (ESP), the fourth seed. In the final she put an end to the brilliant run of unseeded Hungarian Vanessa Dalma Danko 6-1 6-1. Danko’s run began with a qualifier and then saw her take out an incredible four seeded players on the way to the final.
Doubles honours went to more Spanish players. Correa played with Pelayo Rodriguez to win the boys’ title, while Claudia Borbon Roca & Esther Romero Garcia were the girls’ champions.
This week, the 16 & Under Mouratoglou Cup as well as the Category 1 Barcelona International will be two of the week’s highlights. However, for full results in all events and categories here and elsewhere from this past week, please click here, or to view the week's photo galleries, click here.