16 and Under Torneo Tolentino, Tolentino (ITA)
With the famed Correggio and Avvenire (Milan) tournaments not featured on the calendar, this spring’s top billing Italian event took place in Tolentino, in central Italy.
Top seed and local hope Andrea De Marchi was in fine form the entire week. From the outset the Roman was on a mission, striking down his opponents with ease on route to the final. His unseeded compatriot William Mirarchi would be his rival in the final, having earlier seen off third seed Barnabas Sift (HUN) in the quarterfinals. Second seed Arturs Zagars (LAT) fell at the second hurdle to Alex Guidi (ITA), who kept his run of form going all the way to the semis before falling to Mirarchi.
The all-Italian final would turn out to be another straight set win for the top seed, who scored a comfortable 6-3 6-4 victory. It was De Marchi’s first tournament win of the year, and first 16 & Under singles title. Hot on the heels of his quarterfinal runs at two recent Category 1 events in Spain, the 2021 Summer Cups winner can expect to rocket up the Race to Monte-Carlo ranking on Tuesday.
Just like the boys’ top seed, the number one in the girls draw Tereza Krejcova left a trail of Italian victims in her wake as she glided comfortably to the final. Her opponent’s path could not have been more different; Natasha Mihaela Motinga had several arduous tussles and not one, but two come- from-behind three-set wins, as she valiantly battled for a spot in her first final of the season. An upset win over in-form second seed and #2 in the Race, Noemi Maines (ITA) was followed up by a three-set semifinal win over Ilary Pistola (ITA).
The final turned out be a decisive win for the top seed, as Krejcova defeated Motinga 6-4 6-1 to pick up her third title from as many finals in 2022.
Doubles Winners:
Boys: Barnabas Sift (HUN) & Arturs Zagars (LAT)
Girls: Lucrezia Musetti (ITA) & Greta Rizzetto (ITA)
14 and Under Bulgaria Cup, Burgas (BUL)
A clash between the #3 and #6 players in the Race to Monte-Carlo went the way of the higher ranked player as Ivan Ivanov (BUL) got the better of Nikita Bilozertsev (UKR). The Bulgarian took the final 7-5 2-6 3-0(ret.) and is set to leapfrog current #2 Lenny Petit, who fell in the semis, and is closing in on top ranked Zangar Nurlanuly, who was playing in a 16&U event this week.
Andrea Diana Soare was the girls’ singles champion. Having beaten the number one seed Angelica Sara in the semifinals, she faced Maia Ilinca Burcescu in an all-Romanian final. Soare eventually triumphed in a hard-fought three-setter 6-4 2-6 7-5, to win her first title of the year.
Doubles winners:
Boys: Alex Bergomi (SUI) & Valentin Gonzalez Galino (ESP)
Girls: Maia Ilinca Burcescu (ROU) & Kali Supova (SVK)
Elsewhere this week...
- The pecking order was “shaken” up in Yerevan, Armenia as Race leader in the 14&U age group and top seed Zangar Nurlanuly (KAZ) lost the final to compatriot Mansur Shaken at the 16&U Gold’s Gym Cup. Girls’ champion Rada Zolotareva won her second title of the year.
- Local Mikayel Avanesyan adds to his two singles titles of 2022 by winning his second doubles title of the year (in Yerevan with Nurlanuly).
- Hot on the heels of his win in Poland two weeks ago, Swede William Rejchtman Vinciguerra has won his third title of the year, while Latvian Adelina Lachinova has grabbed title number #4 at the Estonian Junior Open (16&U).
- At the 14&U Alfa TI Cup in Budapest, Constantin Neubauer (AUT) adds to the title he won in Zagreb recently and will jump from #42 in the Race while girls’ singles winner Lea Belanska (SVK) picks up title number two from four finals in 2022.
- Lodz, Poland: Already a finalist this year on home soil, local Jan Urbanski has won his first #TEJT title of the year, as does girls’ champion Kristyna Dulikova (CZE).
- Locals Vito Antonio Darderi and Fabiola Marino won the 14&U event in Pescara, Italy.
For a full list of winners from the Junior Tour last week, click here. For this week’s calendar and the latest results, click here.