Jugend Cup - Renningen/Rutesheim, Germany (14/16 & Under)
Kalin Ivanovski’s impressive recent run continues, as he racks up another title in the 14 & Under Category, his second title in as many weeks. After being a three-time runner-up this year, Katerina Dimitrova lived up to her top seed billing, taking the girls’ trophy to claim her long-awaited first win of the year. The 16 & Under champions were Daniel Siniakov (CZE) and Klaudija Bubelyte (LTU), notching their second and fourth wins of the year respectively.
16 & Under
Szymon Kielan began his tournament in style with a win over top seeded Daniel Linkuns-Morozovs (LAT). The Pole then beat fifth seed Mathias Musul (CZE) before falling to the eventual champion in the semi-finals. The second seed, Ondrej Horak (CZE), progressed to the final untroubled with straight sets victories along the way. Siniakov’s path to the final was equally as smooth, except for a scare in the second round, where he had to fight back from a set down to take out unseeded German Frederic Schlossmann. The first set of the final was a bit of a tussle, but the second was clinical and went to Siniakov over Horak 7-5 6-2, levelling their head-to-head count at one win apiece.
The tournament lost its top girls’ seed in the first round, as Linda Fruhvirtova had to pull out of her match. This opened up the draw slightly and allowed for Lucija Ciric (CRO) (seeded fifth) and third seed Zuzanna Szczepanska to fight it out in the semis for a spot in the final. And what a battle it was. In one of the matches of the tournament, the Croatian eventually got the upper hand, winning 6-3 2-6 7-6(5). For her part, Bubelyte made light work of all her opponents en route to the final, where she earned another straight sets win, this time over Ciric, 6-3 6-3.
In such great form was Bubelyte, she also combined with Macedonian Jana Stojanova to win the girls’ doubles title, her third of the year. A tight 10-5 championship tiebreak semi win over Olga Golas & Szczepanska was the wake up call the pair needed to prepare for their final. They then dominated the decider, with a 6-3 6-1 win over Anastasiia Gureva & Alevtina Ibragimova (RUS). Not to be outdone, Siniakov also won his second trophy at the event, teaming up with his vanquished singles opponent, Horak. Apart from a scare in the first round, the pair breezed through the rest of their matches and sealed the deal with a 6-2 6-3 win in the final over compatriots Simon Malis & Jakub Prachar. It was Horak’s first doubles title of the year and Siniakov’s third.
14 & Under
Ivanovski had to fight for his place in the finals with tough wins over second seed Filip Pieczonka (POL) in the quarters and eighth seed Jakub Nicod (CZE) in the semis. Top seed and European #1 Mili Poljicak (CRO) breezed through to the quarterfinal before ousting Georg Eduard Israelan (GER) in three sets. A straight sets semi win over Peter Buldorini (ITA), set up a mouth-watering finals clash between two in-form players. Poljicak, in his fourth final of the year, was the recent runner-up at the European Junior Championships, and Ivanovski won the Category One event in Belgium last week, but the final turned out to be surprisingly one-sided. Clearly on point and not wanting another drawn-out match, Ivanovski was in charge from the get-go, and dismissed the Croatian 6-2 6-1.
It was a fantastic breakthrough moment for Katerina Dimitrova as she finally held aloft her first singles trophy of the year after being pipped at the post on three previous occasions. The top seed was on a mission early on, slaughtering her opponents in the first two rounds. Pushed to three sets in the semi-finals by recent Kilkis Cup winner Michaela Laki (GRE), Dimitrova was ready for the final where she would encounter third seeded Macedonian Aleksandra Simeva. In what was a good week for the Former Yugoslav Republic, Simeva was the nation’s second singles finalist, having taken out her doubles partner, second seeded Romanian Maria Sara Popa in the semi-finals. After a level first set in the final, Dimitrova stepped on the gas and made off with the second set and the final, posting a 6-4 6-0 win.
The two players were to face off again in the doubles final, with Dimitrova able to inflict another defeat on Simeva. Playing with Laura Hietaranta of Finland, the pair scored a 6-1 6-2 win over Simeva & Popa. In the boys’ doubles sixth seeded Czechs Jakub Jupa and Jakub Nicod were on song throughout the tournament, losing just four games in their last two matches, including a 6-1 6-2 final win over Taym Alazmeh of Syria and his partner Bon Lou Karstens of Germany.
Category 2 events
Argayon Cup - Nivelles, Belgium (14/16 & Under)
Top seed Frank Jonker of the Netherlands defeated Razvan Aghion of Romania 6-2 6-2 to claim the boys' 16 & Under title, his fourth of the year. As top seed in the doubles, the Dutch player also took home that prize with his Greek partner Georgios Nouchakis.
Arina Suchkova (RUS) defeated compatriot Tatiana Pushkina 6-2 3-6 6-2 to win the girls’ title but was ousted in the semifinals of the doubles by eventual champions Ksenia Agureeva (RUS) & Zuzana Bednarz (POL).
In the 14 & Under event, there was another win for Russia, this time in the boys’ singles with top seed German Mingaleev coming through in the final over sixth seeded Belgian Idriss Haddouch 7-5 6-3. Spoils in the doubles went to Marc Majdandzic (GER) & Bartolomiej Ros (POL).
And there was great news for locals as Coralie Debruyne & Evra Yildirim won the girls’ doubles title. They also faced off in the singles final, with Debruyne scoring a tight 6-7(5) 3-6 7-5 win.
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.