Having teamed up to win a first ever Copa del Sol title for their country three weeks ago, Bogdan Borza and Nicolae Frunza continued to make history at the European 14 & Under Championships in Pilzen (CZE) as they played the first ever all-Romanian boys’ final at the event.
The previous day, the pair had teamed up to take the doubles title. Seeded #1 and playing with supreme confidence, the pair had little trouble in sweeping to the title, winning all five of their matches in straight sets, including a 6-3 6-1 rout of home hopes Miroslav Chyba & Ondrej Krstev in the final.
In addition to their Copa del Sol and European Doubles wins, the two players have accounted for three Tennis Europe Junior Tour titles already this year (Borza winning in Bucharest and Rakovnik, and Frunza in Svilengrad) and each has claimed two other doubles titles. Going into the final, the pair had met in singles action twice in 2011, with one win apiece, but Borza was in no mood to concede another loss, taking the first set 6-4 before stepping up a gear in the second set to claim it 6-2. Thanks to his win, Borza will become the new European #1 next week, though his team-mate will be close behind.
Second seed Ana Konjuh broke new ground, becoming the first Croatian girl ever to win a European Junior Championships title. After a shaky start to the week, in which she was forced to a final set tiebreak by Tess van Dinteren (NED) in her opening match Konjuh found her form, fighting past three other seeds on her way to the final.
Her rival in the deciding match was Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, a winner of 14 Tennis Europe Junior Tour titles so far in her young career. Konjuh took the first set 6-4, but the experienced Bencic looked to have turned the tide as she levelled the match by taking the second 6-3. Instead it was Konjuh who raised her game in the decider, reeling off six of the last seven games to claim her biggest title yet.
Konjuh has divided her time between the 14 and 16 & Under circuits so far this season, winning singles and doubles at the 16 & Under event in Cakovec as well as the 14 & Under Zagreb title and two Category 1 doubles crowns. She will take over as the new European #1 when the rankings are updated next week. Meanwhile Bencic, who will rise to second, was playing in just her third 14 & Under event of a season in which she has already won her first matches on the professional circuit and reached the 18 & Under Oberentfelden final.
Bencic had been hoping to score a rare double triumph, having already teamed with Chiara Grimm on Saturday to win the doubles title. Seeded #8, the pair fought back from the loss of the first set to beat tenth seeds Raluca Ciufrila & Jaqueline Adina Cristian of Romania 4-6 6-2 (10-5). The win marked the first time that a Swiss pair has ever won girls doubles title at the European Junior Championships.
A total of 158 players took part in this, the 35th edition of the European 14 & Under Championships. All of the singles finalists automatically qualify to compete at the Tennis Europe Junior Masters in October.
Results and Photos
Boys Singles | Girls Singles | Boys Doubles | Girls Doubles | Photos