Tennis Europe Junior Tour

Success for ITF Touring Teams at the Windmill Cup

Success for ITF Touring Teams at the Windmill Cup

DunoAir Windmill Cup - Oosterbeek, Netherlands

International players swept the field at the week’s sole Category 1 event, shutting out European contenders and stopping them from getting their hands on the top prize in every category. With another strong field from South America as well as Asia, players from these burgeoning tennis regions were dominant in Holland.

The boys’ singles champion was Juncheng Shang of China, while Alexandra Eala of the Philippines won the girls’ singles title. There was no joy for Europe in the doubles either, as both trophies went to players from beyond the old continent.

The boys’ top seed, Luca Van Assche (FRA) along with his fifth seeded compatriot William Jucha were kept at bay in the semi-finals by the wildcard entrant from China and the unseeded Qatari player Rashed Nawaf. The bottom half of the draw had opened up after Taym Alazmeh took out the second seed Niccolo Ciavarella (ITA) in the second round. The Syrian was later defeated by Jucha, a recent quarterfinalist in the BNP Paribas Cup and semi-finalist in Albena. The French player  went down in the semi to an inspired visitor who, unfortunately, fell short in the final. Shang was too strong for Nawaf and took the final 6-4 7-5, to add to his recent Category 3 win in Amsterdam.

Top seeded Brit Matilda Mutavdzic lost in the third round, as did the number three seed Gabriela Cortes Flores of Bolivia, while second seed Maria Sara Popa (ROU) fell at the first hurdle. It was therefore left to number four seed Argentine Solana Sierra to lead the way, and she did so convincingly on her way to the final, although she was pushed to three sets in the semi against Mutavdzic’s victor, Linda Klimovicova (CZE). Alexandra Eala, the number eleven seed, was never troubled on her way to the final, carving her way through the draw, losing an average of two games per match. The final, however, was by far her toughest test. Sierra put up amazing resistance, and there was very little separating the players in the match. It was Eala who staked her claim, coming out on top with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 win. Having won in Tarbes earlier this season, she now adds another impressive trophy to her cabinet.

Eala also won the doubles title, making her trip to Oosterbeek even sweeter. Playing with China’s Xin Tong Wang, the pair defeated British third seeds Andrea Pineda & Hannah Smith 6-3 6-1 in the final. It was a great result for the pair - Pineda was playing in her first doubles final of the year, while this marks Smith’s third doubles final appearance of 2018, having won the title in Nottingham. Eala meanwhile improves her outstanding record of just 2 losses from 31 doubles matches on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour.

In the boys’ doubles final, there it was a fantastic result for the Syrian Alazmeh, who played with Udit Gogoi of India. The pair won their first event, taking the final 6-3 6-4, with a win over another pair comprised of players from ITF Touring Teams, Chile’s Gonzalo Bueno & Colombian Nicolas Niño Mendoza. | Photos

Category 2 events

Dynami:t Cup - Lida, Belarus (16 & Under)

Bulgarian Petr Nesterov played his fourth final of 2018. Having scored two bagels and losing just three games in total in the two preceding matches, the top seed was the player to beat. Leading in the final and just two games away from a foreseeable victory, his Polish opponent Jakob Federowicz was forced to retire from the match, awarding the Bulgarian a 6-3 4-0 win, for his second title of the year. In the girls’ draw, qualifier Arina Sorokina had stunned the top seed Hanna Vinahradava (BLR) in the first round and made it all the way to the final in what was a fantastic run. She fell to another Belorussian, a wildcard recipient, Daria Khomutsianskaya in the final.

This was an important breakthrough performance for Khomutsianskaya who claims her first title at this level after recently coming up from the 14&Us where, this year, her best result was a quarterfinal berth. She also picked up her second doubles win of the year, teaming with compatriot Maryia Stsetsevich, already a winner of four 14&U doubles titles in 2018, to win the trophy. Aleksandr Kalinin (BLR) & Egor Shestakov (RUS) were the boys’ doubles champions.

Arges Cup - Cutea de Arges, Romania (16 & Under)

It was a case of Romanian domination in the girls’ draws as all semi-finalists in the singles and doubles hailed from the host nation. Daria Jula defeated Sofia Maria Nicolae 6-3 6-1 in their final. This is her first title of the year, her previous best showing coming at the Hungarian Open where she was a quarterfinalist.  Nicolae was also victorious in the doubles, playing with Stefana Lazar to take the title.

In contrast, the boys’ draws were dominated by Serbians. Adding to his titles in Tirana and Sliven, top seed Petar Teodorovic defeated his third seeded compatriot Filip Mandovic 6-2 6-3 in the final. Clearly, it was a case of no hard feelings, as the two were the winners of the doubles event. It was Teodorovic’s third doubles final, and second win, of the season while it was Mandovic’s first.

Sparkasse Bambini Cup - Kufstein, Austria (14 & Under)

There were a host of matches played in Kufstein in the combined tournament which also included a 12 & Under event.  Top boys’ seed Maxim Donstov (RUS) breezed through the draw, only to be halted by the eventual champion, ninth seeded Liam Gavrielides, in the semifinals. The German was too strong for the Russian, losing just three games in their semi before defeating compatriot Yannik Kelm 6-4 6-3 in the final for his first tournament win at this level.

There was another German victory in the girls’ final where unseeded Karina Hofbauer battled past top seed Patricie Kubikova to score an upset 2-6 6-2 6-4 win. Hofbauer was previously a finalist in the Nordverbaende Cup and has now lifted her first winner’s trophy of the year.

Brits William Jansen & Samuel Reeve took home the boys’ doubles trophy while the French pairing of Jade Psonka & Tewa Zivic were the girls’ champions.

For full results in all events and categories here and elsewhere from this past week, please click here, or to view the week's photo galleries, click here

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