The busiest week of the season so far saw a massive 16 Tennis Europe Junior Tour events held across the continent, with many players winning titles for the first time.
16 & Under
One of the week’s most impressive performances came from Riccardo Balzerani, who scored a double win at the week’s sole Category 1 event, the 2º Memorial Lillo Pucci in Foligno, Italy. Seeded 16th, Balzerani ended Biella champion Genaro Olivieri’s win streak in the semi-finals before going on to beat another Argentinean, Camilo Ugo Carabelli in straight sets in the final. Earlier, he teamed with compatriot Giovanni Fonio to claim his first doubles title. Balzerani’s previous singles titles came in 2012 on the 14 & Under circuit, and his efforts this week will more than double his current ranking pints total.
Alessandra Simonelli made it a dual home win as she outlasted third seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in a hard-fought girls’ final. Like Balzerani, Simonelli won several 14 & Under titles in 2012, and has reappeared on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour in explosive style. The girls’ doubles went to ITF/COSAT Touring Team members Melany Solange Krywoj (ARG) and Camila Romero (ECU).
The leading Romanians dominated the final stages of the Category 2 Mamaia IDU Championships. The four doubles winners, Calin Manda & Cristian Moldovan and Selma Cadar & Andrada Surdeanu, each returned to the court on Sunday to face each other in the singles finals. In the boy’s event, third seed Manda overcame a second set stutter to beat #1 Moldovan 6-3 1-6 6-3, while Selma Cadar extended her winning streak to nine matches, having also won the 14 & Under Category 1 Dr. Oetker Open in Bucharest last week. Cadar is currently on a hot streak, having also won her last three doubles tournaments.
Almost all entries at the Category 3 Baltic Wind tournament in Vsevolozhsk (RUS) were home players, so it was no surprise to see Russian players dominate the winners’ list. Ivan Mikhayluk had a successful week, capitalising on a win over top seed Dmitrii Morozov in the second round before going on to beat qualifier Oleg Turtsov in the final, later adding the doubles title with Alexander Kuznetsov. The girls’ title went to fifth seed Anastasia Sukhotina, who claimed the title when opponent Darina Leonenko retired while trailing 2-6 0-3. Leonenko had previously won the doubles alongside Valeriya Denisenko.
Home players dominated the 9th Euroregion Nisa Cup in Hradek nad Nisou (CZE), except for the boys’ singles event, where a pair of Dutch players upset Czech opposition to reach the final. In the end, thirteenth seed Ryan Nijboer outlasted #2 Bas Muller 6-2 6-7(1) 6-3 to secure his maiden Tennis Europe Junior Tour title. Top seed Johana Markova beat Czech compatriot Natalie Kohoutkova 7-6(4) 6-1 for the girls’ title, and Czech teams claimed both doubles trophies, with Tadeus Paroulek & Michael Vrbensky winning the boys’ and Karolina Panova & Sara Vancurova taking the girls’.
Top seeds emerged victorious in all four events at the Category 3 Reykjavik Open in Iceland. Benedict Moerl of Germany claimed his first Tennis Europe Junior Tour title by beating his doubles partner Felix Schlegel 6-1 6-3. The pair had earlier claimed the doubles crown together. In the girls’ event Ania Hertel of Poland continued her good recent form, beating Maileen Nuudi (EST) 6-3 6-2 to add to last week’s doubles title in Bucharest. Nuudi earned some consolation in the doubles event, where she teamed up with Daevenia Achong of the Netherlands to claim what was a second doubles title of the season for each player.
14 & Under
The Category 2 Memorijal Goran Tanovic in Tuzla (BIH) saw two players on the rise continue their promising starts to the season. Top seed Adela Joldic flew the home flag, winning her third singles title of 2014 with a 6-2 6-4 win over #2 Nevena Sokovic (SRB). On the boy’s side, Karlo Suevich of Croatia wrapped up his second title of the season, coming from behind to beat fourth seeded Russian Gleb Mityurin 4-6 6-4 6-3. The doubles titles went to Australians Stephanie Belovukovic & Selina Turulja and Croatians Marin Jurkovic & Marko Zalukar.
A mixture of Dutch and Italian players stood on the podium on the final day of the Category 2 Torneo Pescara in Italy. Alessio de Bernardis (ITA) & Alexander Jong (NED) had teamed up to take the doubles title as top seeds, and two days later they faced each other in the singles final, with Jong emerging victorious to claim his first Tour title. Also winning a first title was Italy’s Giulia La Rocca, who recovered from a nightmare first set to beat compatriot Giulia Peoni 1-6 6-4 6-1 for the girls’ title. La Rocca also reached the doubles final alongside Alessia Truden, but the pair was beaten by Dutch partnership Gabriella Mujan & Judith van Kessel 6-2 6-3.
Dutch players also made a big impression on the Category 3 Jug Open in Skopje (MKD). Having teamed with Mike Diks to win a second consecutive doubles title, Yannick Verwater went on to beat top-seeded compatriot Lodewijk Westrate to claim the singles title. Maria Elenova won an all-Macedonian girls’ final, claiming her first title with a straight sets win over Darija Krzovska. The was more success for Macedonia in the doubles, where Nora Hristovska teamed with Jovana Babic (SRB) for the win.
The Category 3 Abris Cup, Budapest (HUN) had a very international flavour, with players from seven different nations making up the eight singles semi-finalists. Maria Natalia Lyven of Ukraine continued her good progress in 2014 by claiming her second singles title with a 6-1 6-4 win over recent Copenhagen runner-up Sofia Bezukladova (RUS). The boys’ event saw Kuzey Cekyrge of Turkey take another step up. Having won two doubles titles already this season, he claimed his first singles crown with a 6-4 7-6(3) win over home player Mate Voros. The doubles titles went to Nina Duca (ROU) & Volodymyr Malakhov (UKR) and Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) & Oleksandra Oliynikova (CRO).
The Category 3 Szczecin Cup (POL) saw Mateusz Skutella beat Adam Kwiatkowski by two tie-breaks in an all-Polish boys final, while second seed Anna Kubareva of Belarus beat Ivana Sebestova (CZE) for the girls’ title. Czech teams dominated the doubles competitions, with Jakub Beran & Andrew Paulson winning the boys’ and Vanesa Nikolovova & Anna Siskova winning the girls’ title.
Combined events
The III SEB Tallink Junior Open (EST) is a popular tournament amongst players and combines a 12 & Under and 16 & Under event. The 12 & Under winners were both Estonian players and each claimed their second titles in three weeks, having also come out on top at the tournament in Viljandi recently. Alexander Mandma took the boys’ crown with a win over Latvia’s Roberts Jaricevskis, while Carol Plakk beat Helene Pellicano of Malta. Plakk later added the doubles with Sofiya Chekhlystova, while Jaricevskis went one better than in the singles competition by teaming with Ilya Snitari (MDA) to claim the doubles title.
The 16 & Under boys competition saw an all-Estonian final with Kristjan Tamm upsetting top seed Martin Randpere 6-2 6-4. Compatriots Daniil Glinka & Kenneth Raisma also took the doubles. On the girls’ side, Latvia’s Daniela Vismane won her first title since the Development Championships in March, handing a 6-0 6-1 loss to sixth seed Ekaterina Grib of Belarus. The Lithuanian team of Ieva Ceilutkaite & Iveta Daujotaite won the doubles.
Norway's Stabekk Open offers 14 and 16 & Under categories, and saw home players peforming well. Top seed Raphael Bonnet Flores doubled up in the boys’ 14 & under event, beating home hope Herman Jentoft for the singles crown and teaming with another Norwegian, Andreja Petrovic, to win the doubles. Russian top seeds Ksenia Domnina & Anastasia Tikhonova won the girls’ doubles, with the result of the singles final between Tikhonova and Rebekka Hillingso (NOR) still pending.
Home players completed dominated the 16 & Under draw, with Johannes Helgo upsetting top seed Marcus Sulen for the boys’ title and girls #1 Astrid Brune Olsen claiming a second Tour title at the expense of Lilien Gabrielsen in the girls’ final. Sulen earned some consolation in the boys’ doubles, teaming with Peter Anker for the win, while the girls’ title went to Victoria Halvorsen & Brit Storhaug.
12 & Under
The II Sanchez-Casal Kids Cup in Barcelona saw Australia’s Olivia Gadecki and Spain’s Jorge Plans win their first titles. Gadecki won all of her matches without losing a set, beating Spain’s Marta Custic Braut 6-3 6-0 in the final, while Plans won an all-Spanish three set battle against Matias Montanes Tutzo, 4-6 6-3 6-3. Both doubles events went to French teams, with Lilian Marmousez & Dylan Polderman de Jong winning the boys’ and Cecile Morin & Giulia Moret winning the girls’ title.
The Intesa Sanpaolo Cup in Arad (ROU) saw Peter Fajta of Hungary win his first titles in style, beating home hope Bogdan Manole for the singles and teaming with Nicholas Ionel for the doubles. Home players wept the girls titles, with Iulia Duna beating Marion Leski (AUT) for the singles, and Fatima Keita & Sofia Nicolae beating Leski & Laura Duhl (SLO) for the doubles.
Next week the Tennis Europe Junior Tour rolls on with another fourteen tournaments, including the 50th edition of the prestigious Avvenire 16 & Under tournament in Milan, and the Category 1 14 & Under Treviso tournament. Follow us on Twitter or keep up with all the latest results here.