Luna Vujovic (SRB) and Filip Kosarko (CZE, pictured) and have won the 14&U Category One Most Open in the Czech Republic. The Serbian is going from strength to strength having last week made the semifinals of the 16&U Category One event in Spain and this week powered to the podium, beating the top two seeds for the win. It is already title number three for her in 2022, while Czech Kosarko has now picked up his second trophy of the season.
In the final, Vujovic defeated another in-form player, local girl and top seed Veronika Sekerkova, who had blasted her way to the final with wins over three seeded players. The impressive run ended against the Serb however, with Vujovic conceding just five games as she wrapped up the biggest Junior Tour title of her young career.
Vujovic’s Road to the Title:
R1: def Vanessa Tofi (CZE) 6-0 6-0
R2: def Eliska Drevojanova (CZE) 6-2 6-2
R3: def Sofie Hettlerova [10] (CZE) 4-6 6-4 6-1
QF: def Jana Svobodova (CZE) 6-1 6-2
SF: def Sonia Depesova [2] (SVK) 7-5 6-3
F: def Veronika Sekerkova [1] (CZE) 6-2 6-3
Coming off a title win last week in Ulcinj, the higher ranked German Niels McDonald might have been the slight favourite for victory in the boys’ final. Indeed his run to the title match included an avalanche of straight set wins, though Kosarko’s upset of top seed Nikita Bilozertsev in the semifinal might have been the confidence-booster the Czech needed for the final against his higher ranked opponent. That big win, coupled with the home soil advantage made all the difference for Kosarko as he secured the title with a 6-3 7-6(4) win.
Kosarko’s Road to the Title:
R1: def Marko Bekeni (SVK) 6-1 6-3
R2: def Kirill Korolenko 6-1 6-2
R3: def Ferdinand Livet Novkirichka [11] (FRA) 6-4 6-1
QF: def Jamie Mackenzie [4] (NZL) 6-4 6-1
SF: def Nikita Bilozertsev [1] (UKR) 6-0 6-4
F: def Niels McDonald [5] (GER) 6-3 7-6(4)
Doubles:
Boys’ champions: Mats Egbring (GER) & Maximilian Heidlmair (AUT)
Girls’ champions: Tereza Krejcova (CZE) & Julie Pastikova (CZE)
Many of the names in the last eight in both draws are sitting just outside the top eight in the Race to Monte-Carlo, so we could see a bit of a shake-up in this week’s Race update.
The event took place at the Most Tennis Club, the host venue of the European 14&U Championships. It was a great opportunity for the players to get some matches under their belts here, as many of them will be back on these very courts in July vying for medals for their countries.
More news from last week:
- After a big 2021 in which he made 10 finals with 7 wins in singles and doubles, Slovenian Paolo Angeli made his first finals appearance in 2022, winning the 16&U Zenica Open (Cat.3)
- Last week’s Category One champion in Spain, Sergio Planella, was the Runner-up at the 16&U event held at the Mutua Madrid Open, simultaneously with the ATP and WTA events. While former European Junior Champion Carlos Alcaraz won the men’s ATP title, Luis Garcia Paez, a Les Petits As doubles finalist in 2020, won the boys’ singles event
- Rising Mouratoglou Academy star and Maia Super Category Runner-Up Ksenia Efremova won the ITF 18&U event in Zaragoza, Spain
For a full list of winners from the #TEJT in week 18, click here. For this week’s calendar (week 19), click here.