The third week in January has been a big one in tennis all around. Along with the kick-off of the 2016 Australian Open, five Tennis Europe Junior Tour tournaments also took place this past week, spanning from Great Britain all the way east to a 12 & Under event in Azerbaijan, but headlined by the Category 1 14 & Under Nike Junior International in Bolton, England.
The boys’ final saw the tournament’s number one seed, seventh-ranked Croatian Borna Devald meet ninth-ranked Frenchman and number two seed Harold Mayot in the final. Devald and Mayot had made their way into the final after straight sets wins in all rounds except in the quarter finals where they were both extended to three sets. There was much expectation with the top two seeds meeting in the final, however in the end Mayot got the better of his opponent in two relatively comfortable sets, scoring a 6-2 6-3 victory.
Mayot delivered Devald a double whammy in Bolton. Joining compatriot Lilian Marmousez in the doubles as the number two seeds, the pair combined to hand the number one seeds, Devald and his German partner Moritz Stoeger, a 7-5 6-3 loss in the doubles final.
On the girls’ side, there were some upsets and surprises. Four qualifiers made it past the first round, neither of the top two seeds made it to the final and of the four semi-finalists, not one was European.
In an all-Asian semi-final, number three seed Qinwen Zheng of China ousted Japanese top seed Himari Sato, while in the second semi-final, fifth seed Alexa Noel defeated unseeded American compatriot Vanesa Ong. After a rapid start by Noel, Zheng got into her stride and a hard-fought final was eventually played out, culminating in a tough third set. Ultimately, victory went to Noel 6-0 2-6 7-5.
It was a great tournament for the Americans, who also teamed up to win the doubles title over Canadians Ariana Arseneau & Sofiya Babych. Bolton photos.
In addition to the Category 1 event in northern England, other 14 & Under players participated in the Category 2 Smena Cup in Minsk, Belarus or the Category 3 Quality Hotel Open in Vånersborg, Sweden.
The Smena Cup field was dominated by players from eastern Europe and littered with more shocks. In the boys’ event, Georgian number one seed Tsotne Dzimistarishvili was knocked out in the first round by local wildcard recipient Ivan Valadkevih. However, his run was short-lived as he was outdone in three sets in the following round. The top half of the draw saw Russian qualifier Vladimir Emirbekovin meet yet another local wildcard recipient Aleksandr Kalinin in the semi-final, while in the bottom half, Slovakian eighth seed Jakub Katuch met Russian number 2 seed Marat Sharipov. Eventually, the trophy was hoisted by Katuch who got the better of the Russian qualifier the final.
There were more surprises in the girls’ event, which was eventually won by Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva. She easily dispatched unseeded local Anastaciya Abramovich in the final 6-1 6-0. Abramovich teamed up with compatriot Ksenia Brich to exact revenge over Timofeeva and her Belorussian partner Victoria Kanapatskaya to win the girls doubles final 10-5 in the third set super tie-break. Marat Sharipov and Mikhail Kniazeu, another local, won the boys doubles title.
Meanwhile, the honour roll at the Quality Open in Sweden was almost completely comprised of Dutch players. Stijn Pel took the boys crown, Carmen Van Poelgeest snatched the girls’ prize while Koen Hendrikse & Thijmen Loof combined to take the boys doubles title. The top seeded Dutch girls lost in the semi-finals, and it would be Ireland’s Olivia Mariotti and Britain’s Charlotte Russell that eventually took home the cup.
Vsevolozhsk, Russia was the focus this week on the 16 & Under circuit where Russian players dominated the field in the Category 2 tournament. Events on home soil can be an advantage, and this proved to be true for the last four standing in all four events - with one notable exception. In the boys’ singles, number one seed Egor Manko lost 2 and 1 in the quarter finals to unseeded compatriot Igor Shrolik. This paved the way for number three seed Ivan Ponomarenko, who dispatched Shrolik in the semi-finals and scraped home in two tie-break sets in the final against fourth seed Andrei Umarov. Number one seed in the girls’ singles, Vlada Koval, progressed to the final without dropping a set. In the final against Darya Astakhova, after having lost the first set tie-break, got it together to rout her opponent 1 and 1 in the second and third sets to claim victory.
Egor Novikov & Pavel Verbin won the boys doubles, while Ekaterina Reyngold teamed with Kseniya Yersh from Belarus - the only non-Russian to make it past the semis in any event at this tournament - to easily win the final of the girls doubles.
The coming week shall be another exciting one for the Tennis Europe Junior Tour. Expect to read exciting news as the Petits As international event takes place in Tarbes, France, while the 12 & Under Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD qualifying rounds also take place. We will also discover the winners of the Australian Open, with the event coming to an end on January 31st.