Sergiu Urzica (ROU) and Anna Pushkareva left Belgium last week with big smiles on their faces, after winning the Category One 14 & Under Young Champions Cup in Hasselt. While for Urzica this is his first tournament win of 2022, Pushkareva happily adds a fifth one to her growing list.
In the boys’ draw, seventh seed Urzica impressed throughout the week, as he breezed through the tournament without losing any set in the first four matches. On route he managed to upset quite a few top seeds, including #1 Nikola Bilozertsev (UKR), his doubles partner for the tournament. During the semifinal against the Ukrainian, Urzica came back from a set down before dominating to secure his place in the final with a 3-6 6-0 6-2 win.
He played the final against Valentin Gonzalez-Galino (ESP), who had just won the doubles Super Category title in Düren, the week before. The Spaniard was aiming for two consecutive titles, yet Urzica proved more focused during those key moments. With a 7-5 7-6(4) win, the Romanian claimed his first Tennis Europe singles title this year.
Urzica’s road to the title:
R1: def Aleksandr Asadullin (CYP) 6-0 6-0
R2: def Muhammad Hussnain Ali Rizwan (PAK) 6-3 6-0
R3: def Marat Salbiev [8] 6-3 6-1
QF: def Mikayel Avanesyan [3] (ARM) 6-3 6-2
SF: def Nikita Bilozertsev [1] (UKR) 3-6 6-0 6-2
F: def Valentin Gonzalez-Galino [7] (ESP) 7-5 7-6(4)
If we were to look at Anna Pushkareva’s road to the title, we would notice a pattern – one match came with a quick win, while the next one was more challenging and played in three sets.
She began the tournament with a quick victory against Kudzai Erin Patience Chapepa (ZIM) 6-3 6-1. During the second match, however, she was put in difficulty by unseeded Australian Koharu Nishikawa. Even though Pushkareva won the first set in a blink, she had to regain her control and focus to secure the win in the third set. After losing only two games in the quarterfinal against seed #7 Ilary Pistola (ITA), she had an intense semifinal facing compatriot Daria Koreshkova [4] but won 4-6 6-4 7-5.
Pushkareva played the final against second seed Ksenia Efremova, who certainly wanted to add one more title to the other five that she has claimed this year. Not intimidated by numbers and statistics, Anna Pushkareva took the trophy home, after a 6-3 6-2 triumph.
Pushkareva’s road to the title:
R1: bye
R2: def Kudzai Erin Patience Chapepa (ZIM) 6-3 6-1
R3: def Koharu Nishikawa (AUS) 6-1 4-6 6-2
QF: def Ilary Pistola [7] (ITA) 6-1 6-1
SF: def Daria Koreshkova [4] 4-6 6-4 7-5
F: def Ksenia Efremova [2] 6-3 6-2
Boys’s doubles final:
Aren Baybars (TUR) & Anton Kartsev def. Savva Rybkin & Marat Salbiev 2-6 7-6(1) 10-8
Girls’ doubles final:
Ada Kumru (TUR) & Alexia Ioana Tatu (ROU) def. Mariangel Estrella (VEN) & Yleymi Lugiana Muelle Valdez (PER) 6-1 6-1.
The event in Hasselt was one of the stops for the players part of the ITF/Tennis Europe 14&U Touring Team. On the singles draws, Nehir Dogan (TUR) lost in the third round facing semifinalist Daria Koreshkova [4]. Mikayel Avanesyan played against winner Urzica and left the court after a two-set quarterfinal. Meanwhile, Ada Kumru and Alexia Ioana Tatu won the doubles title, as noted above. Their adventure continues, as they return to Germany this week to try their hands at the Category 2 16 & Under tournament in Renningen/Rutesheim.
Elsewhere on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour last week:
- Sydney Zick (GER) won his first singles title of the year at the Bavarian Junior Open in Augsburg, Germany
- Sofie Hettlerova (CZE) claimed in Augsburg her fifth singles tournament for 2022
- Richards Neimanis (LAT) won both the singles and doubles title at the Bavarian Junior Open, together with partner Jan Skyora (CZE)
- Singles title went to Hollie Smart (GBR) and Mark Ceban (GBR), their third this year, at Junior International Aldershot in Hampshire, Great Britain
- A fifth singles trophy was claimed by Swedish William Rejchtman Vinciguerra at the Category 2 16&U tournament in Krems, Austria
For full results from last week, click here. For information on this week's events on the Junior Tour calendar, click here.