This week’s Tennis Europe Junior Tour saw the Category 1 Le Pont des Générations take place in Villeneuve Lez Avignon, France. The distinguished 16 & Under tournament boasts Caroline Garcia and Novak Djokovic as past champions and was celebrating its 30th edition. The 14 & Under circuit was headlined by the Category 1 Amjoy Cup in the Netherlands.
Category 1
16&U | Pont des Générations | Villneueve Lez Avignon, France
Unseeded local sensation and wildcard entrant Sasha Gueymard-Wayenburg sent ripples through the draw as he quietly and efficiently progressed, upsetting 11th seed Hoan Mouret (FRA) on the way to the quarterfinals. Now at the business end of the prestigious Category 1 event, the French boy was making waves, as he sent top seed Lorenzo Ferri out in straight sets. The second seed, Loan Lestir (FRA), already a three-time Tour champ in 2019, suffered a similar fate at the hands of eighth seeded countryman Antoni Fabre. An all-French final was guaranteed, as all four semi-finalists were locals. Gueymard-Wayenburg easily accounted for qualifier Arthur Macquart giving away only four games, while Fabre dispatched Angel Gautier in similar fashion, gifting only three games. The final saw the fairytale come to an end for Gueymard-Wayenburg, with Fabre ultimately proving too strong, claiming his first Tennis Europe Junior Tour title since Correggio in 2017.
Having been champion in Antalya (Category 2) and runner up at the Category 1 Avvenire tournament, Ukraine’s Kateryna Lazarenko scored the biggest win of her young career, landing her first ever Category 1 singles title. She did so against Chloe Isabella Tsang, who had come through as the fifth seed. The Australian has had some solid results on the ITF Junior Tour and had taken out fourth seed Emma Pedretti (ITA) in the semis and prior to that, second seeded Russian Kristina Kuksina. For her part, Lazarenko breezed into the final without the loss of a set and was especially impressive in a 6-3 6-3 dismissal of third seed Anna Sedysheva (RUS) in the semi-finals. She maintained her clean sheet as she swept Tsang aside 6-1 6-4, a victory which will see her ranking rocket from 39 past her previous best of 34.
Boys’ doubles winners: Tom Calcara (FRA) & Yohann Dombrowski (FRA)
Girls’ doubles winners: Mariia Nikitash (UKR) & Anna Sedysheva (RUS)
14&U | Amjoy Cup | Veldhoven, Netherlands
Spain’s Alejandro Melero Kretzer has nabbed his first title of the year by winning a come-from-behind final against Andre Megrabian (BEL) 5-7 6-3 6-2. Josy Daems (GER) won her second title, and first Category 1 event, seeing off Isis Louise Van Den Broek 6-4 6-3. The local player, however, found success in the doubles along with her male compatriots, who made it a clean sweep for the host nation in the doubles categories.
Boys’ doubles winners: Abel Forger (NED) & Kyvan Rietkerk (NED)
Girls’ doubles winners: Nina Kwakman (NED) & Isis Louise Van Den Broek (NED)
Category 2
16&U | Junior Championships | Mamaia, Romania
There was a clean sweep for local players, with all the finalists hailing from Romania. Current Tennis Europe Junior Tour 14&U #2 Mihai Alexandru Coman is working hard to reclaim his top spot, and secured a second win out of three finals this year with a 6-2 7-6(8) win over Dragos Nicolae Cazacu. Cara Maria Mester was too strong for Ioana Daria Macos in the girls’ final, grabbing the title with a 6-2 6-2 win.
Boys’ doubles winners: David Alexandru Gheorghe & Cristian Marton (ROU)
Girls’ doubles winners: Maria Daciana Ciubotaru & Cara Maria Mester (ROU)
16&U | Marin Suica Junior Open | Cakovec, Croatia
Playing this third singles final of the season, Alen Bill (CRO) finally came off with a win, outdoing Jan Kobierski (AUT) 6-3 6-1 to take the boy’s crown.
After winning the Hungarian Open earlier in the year, Croatian Sara Svetac’s recent run of form led her to the final in Crema last week. On this occasion, she went one better and ran away with the match with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Irina Balus (SVK).
Boys’ doubles winners: Aljaz Kirbis (SLO) & Lun Obrul (SLO)
Girls’ doubles winners: Marijana Majetic (CRO) & Sara Svetac (CRO)
For full results, scores and more from all the above tournaments, as well as other events from Week 26, click here.
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