The 59th edition of the prestigious Torneo Avvenire concluded in Milan with titles for Richard Mitchell (SUI) and Mariia Kocherzhenko (UKR), who add their names to an honour roll that includes former champions such as Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis. | Photos
The boys’ event featured several surprises from the opening rounds. Top seed Martin Adamca (SVK) suffered an early first-round exit, while second seed Rafael Papoian, champion at the Super Category in Maia, was stopped in the quarterfinals by Spain’s Pablo Jimenez Roman.
As a result, the title match brought together the third and fourth seeds, Luis Bernardo Saraiva (POR) and Richard Mitchell (SUI). The pair had met just weeks earlier in the Maia semifinals, where Saraiva won in three sets. In Milan, however, Mitchell turned the tables. The Swiss player dominated the opening set 6-1 before Saraiva responded to level the match by taking the second set 6-3. Mitchell regained control in the third set, sealing a 6-1 3-6 6-1 victory to claim his biggest title on the Junior Tour.
The victory completed an impressive week for Mitchell, who also lifted the doubles trophy alongside Jonas Waelti (SUI), securing their second Super Category doubles title as a team.
In the girls’ draw, the top two seeds lived up to expectations as Eva Maria Bulai (ROU) and Mariia Kocherzhenko (UKR) advanced to the final. Both enjoyed impressive runs through the tournament, with Kocherzhenko needing three sets only once, in the second round.
The final marked the fifth meeting between the two players, with Kocherzhenko having won all four previous encounters, including matches this year at the Winter Cups and the Super Category event in Stockholm. The Ukrainian maintained her perfect record against Bulai, showed a dominant performance to win 6-1 6-1 and capture her first Super Category title.
Doubles
Boys: Richard Mitchell & Jonas Waelti (SUI) def. Giovanni Di Leva & Tommasso Panto (ITA) 6-7 6-2 10-5
Girls: Vega Bontin (SWE) & Beata Maresova (CZE). def. Eva Maria Bulai & Lyubov Pronenko 6-0 6-1
Elsewhere on the Tour:
- Meriem Miladi (FRA), who came through qualifying at the 14 & Under Category 2 event Les Petits Ducs in Dijon, France, went on to reach the final and claim the title
- Alexandra Budkova Kjaer (NOR) and Ioannis-Panagiotis Vasileiadis (GRE) won the singles titles at the 16 & Under Category 2 tournament in Tallinn, Finland
- At the Alibaba Cup in Humenne, Czechia, Luka Kostic (SRB) and Ella Bartakova (SVK) won the 16 & Under titles, while Serhii Surkhanov (UKR) and Karolina Zednikova (SVK) were crowned champions in the 12 & Under event
For more results, click here.