Last week was fairly quiet on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour with just two Category 3 events held.
At the Kungens Kanna & Drottningens Pris in Stockholm, top seed and European #12 Kenneth Raisma (EST) eased through to the final but was unable to win his second title of the year. Seventh seed Carl Soderlund – appearing in his second final of 2011 – conceded just four games to win his first Tennis Europe Junior Tour singles title. Soderlund also continued his doubles hot streak. Having won in Farum a fortnight ago, he teamed with Swedish compatriot Jesper Akerlund for a 7-6(3) 4-6 [10-3] win over Raisma and Kristja Tamm. Soderlund leaps 36 places to the cusp of the European Top 40, while Raisma breaks into the Top 10 in today’s new rankings.
Jasmine Asghar capped a successful two weeks in Sweden with her second consecutive title. Ranked #118 at the start of the event, she flew through the draw without the loss of a set, beating unseeded Swede Sofia Ferding (who ousted top seed and European #10 Anna Sviripa in the first round) 6-3 6-0 to continue her ten match unbeaten run. Sviripa had better luck in the doubles, where she teamed up with Lisa Ponomar of Germany to take the title.
Asghar’s two tournament wins in Sweden have seen her halve her ranking from #118 two weeks ago to #54 this week.
At the 16 & Under Nike Open event in Tallinn, Estonia, the top two seeds, Patrick Ciorcila (ROU) and Mantas Bugailiskis (LTU) advanced to the final. Both were looking for their first 16 & under title, but it was the Lithuanian, who also won the 14 & Under event in Riga last year, to emerge victorious after surviving a tense second set, 6-2 7-6(7).
The doubles final was an all-Italian affair, won by Jacopo Stefanini & Andrea Turco over Marco Brugnerotto & Simone Roncalli.
Home players excelled in the girls’ event, with two Estonian players facing each other in the final. The end result was an upset, with 14-year old sixth seed Erika Hendsel conceding just two games in a 6-1 6-1 win over top seed Tatjana Vorobjova, ranked over 200 spots above her in the Overall Rankings. Like boys’ champion Bugailiskis, Hendsel was also a winner at the 14&U event in Riga last year. The two Estonians also teamed up to reach the doubles final, though the pair was outlasted by Lithuania’s Agne Cepelyte & Akvile Parazinskaite, who clinched the title with a match tiebreak, 6-2 3-6 [10-6].
This week looks set to be the busiest of the season so far on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, with the prestigious Open Super 12 in Auray, the 14 & Under Category 1 ‘Tim Essone’ event, and no less than five 16 & Under events.