Jay Clarke confirmed his status as the player to watch on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour by winning his second Category 1 title in successive weeks at the Stanley Cup in Rome. The 13-year old Briton extended his winning streak to 12 matches with a hard fought 7-6 6-4 victory over home hope Gian Marco Moroni, a day after teaming with Kenneth Raisma (EST) to take the doubles crown over Hungarian pair Akos Kotorman & Mate Valkusz. The productive fortnight for Clarke leaves him tantalisingly close to claiming the European 14 & under #1 spot for the first time.
The girls’ title in Rome went to Spain’s Julia Payola, who upset top seed Dalma Galfi (HUN) for the loss of just four games to take her fourth Tennis Europe Junior Tour title. Galfi was also a doubles finalist, having teamed with Fanny Stollar (HUN) but the pair were pipped to the title by Nina Boch (FRA) & Andreea Rosca (ROU), who fought back from the loss of the first set to claim a memorable 4-6 7-6(5) 10-8 victory.
The Category 2 Wilson Cup in Rakovnik (CZE) also attracted a strong field, with the top two seeds (both Top 10 players) emerging to face each other in the boys’ final. Mikael Yemer of Sweden was appearing in his second final in eight days having been the doubles runner-up with Jay Clarke at last week’s Category 1 Bucharest event, and powered to a 6-0 6-4 win over top seed Samuel Sippel of Germany. Sippel & Yemer also teamed up to play doubles, but were beaten in the semi-finals by eventual champions Valentin Guenther & Nicolas Mayr (GER).
Anastasia Detiuc of Moldova claimed her first singles title of the season by beating Adeliya Zabirova (RUS) to win the girls’ championship. Meanwhile Beata Kotlarova (CZE) became the only local player to claim any silverware, teaming with Anastasia Zarytska (UKR) for the doubles title.
Home favourite Alp Sentay swept the boys events at the Category 2 GD Tennis Cup in Antalya, Turkey. The top seed defeated Switzerland’s Cedric Rudolph 6-2 6-1 in the singles final and teamed with Britain’s Alexis Canter (the only player to take a set off him on route to the singles title) to win the doubles. Daria Kruzhkova (RUS) claimed her second title of the season by beating Cristiana Tudor (ROU) for the girls’ title, while the doubles went to fellow Russians Angelika Shapovalova & Ksenia Stashenkova.
A joint 14/16 & Under Category 3 event In Memory of Haydar Aliyev was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, with home players scooping both boys titles. Second seed Aykhan Manafli beat Lev Kazakov (RUS) for the 14 & Under crown, while top seed Farid Hajizada beat another Russian, Alexander Boborykin, for the 16 & Under title. Boborykin went one better in the doubles event, teaming with compatriot Gleb Svistin (RUS) for the title.
Georgia’s Miriam Bolkvadze recorded the unusual feat of winning the 14 & Under girls singles title (beating Varvara Kuksina 6-0 6-0 in the final), and also taking the 16 & Under girls’ doubles, alongside compatriot Tamar Kutubidze. The 16 & Under singles title went to Ana Testemitanu of Moldova, who was 4-3 up in the first set of her match against Polina Novikova when the Russian was forced to retire.
Denmark hosted the week’s other joint event, the Copenhagen TE Outdoor. Casper Ruud (NOR) accounted for both 14 & Under boys’ titles, beating Constant de la Bassetiere (FRA) in both finals, teaming with Nikolaj Katic (DEN) for the doubles win over de la Bassetiere & Loick Bruandet (FRA). The girls’ tournament saw Switzerland’s Alessia Welti breeze to the title, losing just 18 games in six matches to claim her second singles title of the season. As in the boys event, the doubles went to a Danish-Norwegian pair, with Emelie Haakansson (DEN) & Line Huglen (NOR) claiming a walkover win over Dutch partners Rhonda de Lang & Annabelle Hageman.
There was more Swiss success in the 16 & Under competition, with Gabriele Moghini beating Sam Rice (GBR) for the boys singles’ crown. Simone Alipieva (DEN) claimed her first title of 2012 (and sixth overall) by beating Katsiaryna Zaitsava (BLR) to win the girls event, while the doubles winners were Julian Ocleppo & Riccardo Porisini (ITA) and Jana Kuzovkova & Kimberly Valgemae (EST).
The Category 2 Pinsk Open in Belarus proved to be a happy hunting ground for the nation’s top 16 & Under players, with Aliaksandr Halinko and Khystsina Kandratsiuk claiming the boys’ and girls’ titles, with wins over Aleksandre Bakshi (GEO) and Sofia Smagina (RUS) respectively. Olexiy Kolisnyk & Aleksandr Malyshev (UKR) prevented a home sweep by beating Halinko & Andrei Andrukhou to the boys’ doubles crown, while Russians Ekaterina Kazionova & Vladislava Litvinova took the girls’ doubles.
Petros Chrysochos was the star of the Herodotou Tennis Academy event in Larnaca, Cyprus. The top seed was playing his first Tennis Europe Junior Tour event of the season having reached five finals in 2011, and took both singles and doubles titles over Michail Pervolarakis, beating his Cypriot compatriot 6-2 6-2 in the singles final and teaming with Andreas Aravis to beat Pervolarakis & Leandros Papayiannis in the doubles final.
Raluca Serban (ROU) claimed the girls title with a 7-5 6-3 win over Georgia’s Ekaterine Lasareishvili, while the doubles crown went to Ekaterina Ivanushchenko & Anna Savchenko.
There were also two 12 & Under events held last week. At the Croatia Cup in Cakovec, qualifiers Yshai Oliel (ISR) and Daria Solovyeva (RUS) had a busy week, winning the boys and girls singles titles respectively, and teaming with Luka Mrsic (AUT) and Kristina Novak (SLO) to add the doubles titles.
The Izida Cup in Dobrich, Bulgaria, saw a win for home hope Adrian Andreev in the boys’ singles, though he was just beaten in the doubles final – playing alongside compatriot Danko Jordanov - by Berke Coskun (TUR) & Leonid Sheyngezikht (RUS). Russia’s Natalia Boltinskaya went one better though, beating Alena Yurchenko 6-1 6-0 for the girls’ crown and teaming with compatriot Aleksandra Stepanova for the doubles win.
This week the Tennis Europe Junior Tour is event busier, with 11 events across the three age categories, highlighted by the Category 1 14 & under Bohemia Cafex Cup in Rakovnik (CZE). Keep up with all the latest draws and results here.