A busy week on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour saw the first ever Summer Cups qualifying round held alongside an ATP event, while Category 1 action took place in Annecy, France. Here’s our weekly round-up:
EUROPEAN SUMMER CUPS
The first of the eight 16 & Under Summer Cups Qualifying Rounds took place in Hamburg, where 8 teams of boys fought for a spot in the final of the European team championship event in Le Touquet next month. The competition was held alongside the ATP 500 event, allowing the players to experience the iconic atmosphere of professional events.
The German boys, the home favorites, were cheered by hundreds, if not thousands, of spectators during the three days of competition. In today’s final, the team consisting of Diego Dedura Palomero, Niels McDonald and Oliver Majdandzic played against Portugal and comfortably won all three matches.
Germany’s captain Philipp Petzschner commented, “It was a great experience, playing in front of a crowd was an amazing feeling for the boys. I witnessed it a few times before, that’s why last year we came up with the idea to host it during the ATP 500. Thanks to the organisers and the German federation, we made it possible. The boys were practicing the whole week with Rune, with Fils, with almost everybody who was in the draw, so I think we had a great week. Since we qualified, an even better weekend. The boys embraced the feeling of playing for their country, we have big goals this year and we want to go as far as possible."
Germany and Portugal have therefore both qualified for the Final Rounds in Le Touquet, where they will battle for one of the 5 spots at the Junior Davis Cup in Antalya in November. As hosts, Türkiye (who claimed the bronze medals with a win over Netherlands) will also compete there.
Tennis Europe would like to thank the German Tennis Federation, Tennium and the City of Hamburg for offering this unique opportunity to the players.
TENNIS EUROPE U14 D’ANNECY
Takahiro Kawaguchi of Japan and Yeseo Park of Korea claimed the Category 1 titles in Annecy, following a week of great tennis and an unpredictable draw with many top seeds falling along the way.
ITF Touring Teams from around the world made their presence felt, with players from four different continents reaching the semi-finals. Takahiro Kawaguchi proved throughout the week that he can manage three-set matches very well, as 4 out of the 6 matches he played had a decisive set. In the final against Brazilian Livas Eduardo De Carvalho Damazio, he came back from one set down to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
This is the second title in a row for Kawaguchi, who had just secured the 14&U Wimbledon trophy and showed no trouble in adapting to the clay surface.
As for the girls, Yeseo Park upset first seed Laura Chlumska of Czechia 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the final round, where she quickly defeated Ukrainian Anastasiia Nikolaieva. It was the first time Park had played in a TEJT tournament, and she made the perfect debut!
ELSEWHERE ON THE JUNIOR TOUR THIS WEEK
Top seeded German Johan Nagel-Heyer lived up to his billing, winning six matches to take the title at the combined 12/14&U Austrian Youth Open in Kufstein. It was his first title of the year, and will no doubt help boost his Race to Masters ranking of #6 on Tuesday. The girls’ 14&U event was also won by the top seed, Sofia Kocisova (SVK), who beat Australia’s Pauline Ma by the unusual score of 6-1 0-6 6-0.
The Peter Hagedorn International was another combined event – a 14/16 & Under combi held in Waiblingen, Germany, where there were some notable winners. One of this year’s breakthrough players, Darina Matvejeva (LAT) won her fifth title of the season – and first at 16 & Under level – with a win over top seed Sofie Mottlova (CZE) in the final. The other three singles titles all went to the top seeds: Akhmadi Makhanov (KAZ) won the 14 & Under boys’ (plus the doubles), Violetta Skryp (UKR) the 14 & Under girls’, and Niccola Satta (ITA) the 16 & Under boys.
Reykjavik, Iceland hosted arguably Europe’s most remote event, where Denmark’s Mingus Hansen and Britains Liv Zingg took the singles titles.
Australian players dominated the Focus Tennis Academy Open in Ridderkerk (NED), where Lucas Han and Tori Russell overcame a very international field to emerge victorious.
For full results from the Junior Tour this week, click here.