Five events were held last week as the Tennis Europe Junior Tour sprang back to life. The week’s events were led by the Kremlin Cup, which turned out to be a fruitful tournament for local players, with Russians sweeping the field in Ryazan. All finalists in all four events hailed from the host nation, with the star being Dmitrii Burtsev, who captured the boys’ singles and doubles titles. Meanwhile, 14 & Under Player of the Year Vojtech Petr (CZE, pictured) got his year off to a perfect start, securing his first 16 & Under title.
Category 1: 14 & Under Kremlin Cup Junior, Ryazan RUS
In what was a tournament of upsets, the Kremlin Cup Junior kicked off with arguably its biggest shock when the Belgian top seed, Louis-Lou Kangenaken lost his first match against the unseeded local player Egor Grogoriants. He then went on to defeat another seed before falling to the #6 Daniil Sarksian (RUS) in the quarterfinals. Sarksian then met his match in the semis, where he was defeated by the eventual champion Burtsev. In the bottom half of the draw the number two seed, Dmitry Bessonov (RUS) only made it as far as his second match, succumbing in straight sets to Artur Aiukhanov. The sixteenth seed then ploughed his way through fifth seed Pavel Marinov (BUL) in a brutal tussle before progressing all the way to the final. After a tight first set against the number 15 seed, Aiukhanov could muster no more, offering little resistance in the second set, going down in straight sets. Burtsev took the final 7-6(5) 6-0 to notch up his first ever Tennis Europe Junior Tour title.
The girls draw was also littered with upsets and surprises. The top two seeds, Naira Gevorkian, (RUS) and Ekaterina Ivanova (RUS) met the same fate as their male counterparts, both falling in round three. This left the field wide open - an opportunity Victoria Milovanova, recent champion in the Super Category tournament in Khimki, took full advantage of. The open draw, combined with her blistering run of form, propelled the unseeded Russian past the tenth and fourteenth seeds into a second final in as many weeks. Waiting for her in the final was Daria Shadchneva (RUS). The number five seed had kept a clean sheet all tournament and was too strong Milovanova, taking the decider 6-0 6-2 for her second 14&U title. Despite the loss, Milovanova can no doubt be heartened by this performance. Two finals and one title in two of the biggest events on the calendar at the beginning of the season marks a very strong start to her first year in the 14 & Under category.
It was a magical week at home for Burtsev. Building on his victory in the singles, he also took the doubles title with Maxim Goncharov (RUS). They defeated top seeds Timofei Derepasko & Ilya Maltsev 6-1 6-1. The girls’ doubles champions were Mirra Andreeva & Daria Egorova, who were too strong for Nina Sozaonova & Polina Starkova, posting a 6-1 6-2 win.
Category 2: 16 & Under 20th Tennisline Cup, Milovice CZE
The 14&U Player of the Year of 2019, Vojtech Petr (CZE, pictured) got his 2020 campaign off to a sublime start, posting a victory on home soil. The top seed defeated unseeded compatriot Stepan Mruzek 6-3 6-3 in the final to claim his maiden 16&U title. The girls’ top seed, Julie Struplova was too strong for Latvia’s Valerija Maija Kargina, taking the girls’ final 6-2 6-1.
More spoils came for the Czechs in both doubles finals. The boys’ champions were Patrik Homola & Simon Myslevic, while Tereza Krenkova & Katrin Pavkova won the girls’ doubles.
For full results from these events and more from the past week, please click here.