Tennis Europe Junior Tour

Lumsden flies the flag in Bolton

Lumsden flies the flag in Bolton

The first Category 1 event of the season was the AEGON Junior International Teen Tennis in Bolton, England, where some of the world’s best 14 & Under players were in action. The strong contingent of American players in Europe to compete at back-to-back Category 1s dominated the event, accounting for three of the four singles final spots and taking both doubles titles.

Fifteenth seed Francis Tiafoe (USA) stomed through the boys’ draw, following up a 7-6(3) 7-5 defeat of European #1 Kenneth Raisma (EST) in the semifinals with a straightforward 6-3 6-3 final victory over compatriot Michael Mmoh. Tiafoe & Mmoh also paired up to reach the doubles final, where they were beaten by another American pair, William Blumberg & Nathan Ponwith, who recovered from a set down to win 3-6 7-5 (10-7).

The top girls’ seed, Olga Fridman (UKR), also fell to an American in the semifinals, where she was beaten 6-2 6-1 by Alicia Black (USA). In the second semi, Britain’s Maia Lumsden recovered from the brink of defeat to outlast Emma Christine Higuchi 2-6 7-6(5) 6-3. The Scot then went on to beat Black 7-5 6-1 in the final, securing the biggest Tennis Europe Junior Tour title of her career so far and ensuring that she will climb to the upper reaches of the Top Ten when the new rankings are released. Lumsden’s win earned her some revenge for defeat in the doubles final, where Black teamed with Nicole Frenkel (USA) to beat Lumsden & Jazzi Plews (GBR, pictured) 6-2 5-7 (10-6). Photo Gallery.

Over in Czech Republic, Luca Wiedenmann of Germany was the surprise winner of the boys’ tournament at the Category 2 11 Realsport Open in Milovice-Mlada Boleslav. Wiedenman not won back-to-back matches in four previous TEJT events, but this time won seven in a row to come through the qualifying competition before going on to beat four seeds, including a 6-3 1-6 6-3 win over Belgium Lukas Daels for the title. Order was maintained in the girls’ event, where top seeded Slovakian Viktoria Kuzmova breezed to the title without the loss of the set. Kuzmova, the European #3, currently holds six Tennis Europe Junior Tour titles and looks to be one of the players to set the pace in 2012. The girls doubles went to Austrian pair Mira Antonitsch & Christina Wolfgruber, while home hopes Stepan Holis and Alessandro Ricci ensured some of the silverware would remain with the host nation by taking the boys’ title.

Aaro Pollanen won his second Tour singles title at the Category 3 Narva Cup in Estonia. The Finn beat top seed Alexander Guskov (RUS) in the quarterfinals before advancing to beat another Russian, Alexey Aleschev, in the final. Pollanen just failed to make it a double victory, teaming with compatriot Patrick Christopher Stenfors to stretch Guskov & Renat Sahabutdinov to the limit before losing (RUS) 1-6 6-1 (10-8). Anna Ureke of Russia did manage to double up though, beating Hanna Yedzelkina (BLR) 6-4 6-3 for the singles title and teaming with Polina Golubovskaya for the doubles.

The only 16 & Under event of the week was the Category 3 Vsevolozhsk Cup in Russia. Home players dominated the draws, with the top seeds emerging victorious in both the boys and girls events. Evgeny Tyurnev beat Russian compatriot Alexander Bublik 6-1 6-4 for the boys title, and teamed with Ilya Vasilyev for the doubles crown. Anastasia Shaulskaya overcame Veronica Miroschnichenko of Ukraine 6-4 7-6(2) for the girls singles, while Ekaterina Tretyak & Alina Zolotareva teamed up to take their first Tour doubles title. 

This week on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour is highlighted by the ‘Les Petits As’ event in Tarbes, often referred to as the world’s toughest 14 & Under tournament, with a host of former world #1’s amongst the former champions. There’s also a Category 2 event in Mogilev, Belarus (Cosmos Court Cup), and this weekend sees the launch of the 12 & Under Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD, with 55 national teams travelling to take part in the qualifying competition. All the latest draws and results can be found here.

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