Last week the Tennis Europe Junior Tour saw the first combined Category 1 14 and 16 & Under event of the year. Several of the Tour’s leading players scored notable wins at the event in Irpin (Ukraine) to boost their chances of qualifying for the season-ending Masters.
Federico Cina (ITA) made a big breakthrough, winning his first title of the year, while Maria Golovina (RUS), Petr Brunclik (CZE) and Yeva Galiievska (UKR) were the other singles winners on the outskirts of Kyiv.
CATEGORY 1
Ukrainian Junior Open | Irpin (UKR)
14 & Under
With two doubles titles under his belt this year, Italy’s Federico Cina posted a 6-1 6-2 win in the 14&U boys’ singles final against top seed and Junior Tour #1 Timofei Derepasko to claim his first singles title of the year. Look out for big moves from both players in tomorrow’s Race to Monte-Carlo update, especially as the Russian will close in on the top spot from where he currently sits at number #5.
Golovina, fourth in the race, will see her stock rise even more after winning her third title from four finals this year. In the tournament decider, she dashed the hopes of top seed Dora Miskovic (CRO), no stranger to finals herself in 2021. With a 6-2 6-2 win, the Russian ensured the Croat would go home with a third runner-up trophy of the season, her sole victory remaining that which she won on home soil in week 15 at the Zaba Cup. Regardless, Miskovic will rebound from 10th in the race, having dipped one place last week.
Boys’ doubles champions: Federico Cina (ITA) & Duje Markovina (CRO)
Girls’ doubles champions: Melinda Biro (HUN) & Dora Miskovic (CRO)
16 & Under
For Brunclik, it was a third title from as many finals thanks to a 6-2 6-0 rout of Jakub Jedrzejczak (POL) in the decider. The Czech is likely to shoot from 16th into the upper echelons of the Race ranking, and has now built an impressive 15-match win streak on the Junior Tour.
Galiievska kept the flame alive for locals, also going three for three in finals this year, and winning her biggest title yet. On this occasion her experience showed with a cool straight sets win over in-form Laima Vladson (LTU), 6-3 6-1. Both Galiievska, currently at #23 in the Race and Vladson at #5, will rocket up the ladder tomorrow. Top seed, and current race leader Rose Marie Nijkamp (NED) was left wanting after her quarterfinal loss to Galiievska, while second placed Pole Monika Stankiewicz will close the gap slightly on Nijkamp, having made the semi, only to be conquered by the eventual champion also.
Boys’ doubles champions: Tomasz Berkieta (POL) & Oskar Grzegorzewski (POL)
Girls’ doubles champions: Lucia Hradecka (SVK) & Renata Jamrichova (SVK)
CATEGORY 2
20th Realsport Open 16 | Jablonec Nad Nisou (CZE)
Julia Stusek (GER), the leader in the 14&U girls’ Race to Monte-Carlo, has won her sixth title of the year, and her first in this age group. In the final, the German outplayed her compatriot Sonja Zhiyenbayeva to take the trophy 6-3 6-1. Belgian Emilien Demanet won the boys’ title, with a 6-3 6-3 win over another German, Flynn Tjark Baumert, in the boys’ final. Top seed Maxim Mrva (CZE), fourth in the 14&U Race, was taken out by Demanet, but his run to the semi-finals will no doubt solidify his position near the top.
Boys’ doubles champions: Maxim Mrva (CZE) & Vojtech Vales (CZE)
Girls’ doubles champions: Natalia Davidova (CZE) & Lucie Urbanova (CZE)
For full results from the past week on the Junior Tour, click here. This week sees events held in 14 countries across the continent, from Belgium to Georgia. Keep up with all the latest results here.