Last week was exceptionally busy on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, with no less than seven events taking place across the continent.
14 & Under
The most prestigious event of the week was the 14 & Under Category 1 18th Taça Internacional Jovem in Maia (POR), which saw two of Europe’s top three players battle it out for the boys’ title. Top seed Andrey Rublev had already won a Category 1 event this season (Ste. Genevieve des Bois), while Europe’s #3 Roman Safiullin has been catching up fast, winning a Tour-leading four singles titles so far in 2011. The final was a suitably close contest from two of the Tour’s most promising players, with Safiullin overcoming a second set lapse to outlast his compatriot 6-2 4-6 6-4.
Safiullin was taken to three sets in four of his six matches, but found a way to win, and extended his Tennis Europe Junior Tour unbeaten streak to 21 matches. He will rise to #2 in the rankings on Tuesday when the new list is published.
The girls’ title went to Julia Payola Sucarrats. Ranked just #54, the Spaniard survived several bruising encounters, outlasting third seed Victoria Muntean (FRA) and ending top seed Iryna Shymanovic’s (BLR) two tournament unbeaten streak, both in three sets. Her final opponent, Mathilde Armitano (FRA) had been in good form all week but had no answer to the clay court prowess of the Spaniard, who won 6-2 6-2 to record her second title on the Tour from just five tournaments played.
Armitano earned some consolation, winning the doubles title with compatriot Vinciane Remy, while the boys’ doubles went to Alexander Bublik (RUS) & Marco Mosciatti (ITA). Tournament Gallery
The Category 3 AEGON International in Nottingham (GBR) saw Benjamin Hannestad (DEN) and Gabriella Taylor (GBR) win their second titles of the season. Hannestad beat Briton Vincent Gillespie for the boys’ title, and also teamed with him to capture the doubles title, while Taylor beat top seeded compatriot Ceire Mullins to take the girls’ crown. The girls’ doubles title went to Silvia Chinellato (ITA) and Amanda Schneider (SUI).
Home players dominated at the Category 3 Torneo Internazionale in Caserta, Italy, with Enrico Semprebon coming from behind to beat wild card Luca Giacomini 3-6 6-4 6-1 for the boys’ title. Another wild card, Beatrice Torelli won the girls’ title, thanks to a 6-4 6-3 victory over Francesca Bonometti. Andrea Pellegrino & Mattia Rossi took the boys’ doubles title over Giacomini & Semprebon, while Bulgarians Petia Arshinkova & Viktoria Bardarova were the only non-Italian titlists, taking home the girls doubles trophy.
There were plenty of surprises at the Category 3 Zaba Open in Vinkovci (CRO), where Alex Molcan (SVK) was the only one of the top four seeds to survive past the third round stage. He reached the semi finals before falling to eventual champion David Szintai of Hungary. Szintai went home with both trophies, beating seventh seed Aleksander Curcin (SRB) for the singles crown and teaming with compatriot Gergo Rendek to take the doubles.
The girls’ title went to second seed Katarina Jokic, who became the first player from Bosnia & Herzegovina to win a Tennis Europe Junior Tour title this year, easing to a 7-5 6-0 victory over Japan’s Natusho Arakawa in the final. Jokic also reached the doubles final alongside Croatian partner Margita Sunjic, but came off second best to Slovenian pair Manca Pislak & Tamara Zidansek, 6-3 3-6 (10-3).
Unseeded local players caused plenty of surprises at the III Gutysport event in Magaluf (ESP). Qualifier Carlos Taberner upset top seed and European #19 Viktor Durasovic (NOR) in the quarter finals before being beaten by another qualifier, Mauricio Marco Benitez Zafra. Benitez Zafra went on to win his first Tennis Europe Junior Tour title, scoring a 6-3 6-2 win over fourth seed Grigory Potemkin (RUS) in the final. Benitez also added the doubles title, teaming with Guanarteme Nuez Delgado (ESP) for a marathon 2-6 6-2 (11-9) win over David Gonzalez Rodriguez (ESP) and Arturo Schmidt (SUI).
The girls’ final was to be an all-Hungarian affair, though Dalma Galfi was unable to play, handing the title to Fanny Stollar. The doubles final gave home fans plenty to cheer for though, as Delia Arranz – playing her first event of the season - teamed with Jil Belen Teichmann (SUI) to take the title.
16 & Under
The 64-draw Category 2 GD Tennis Cup in Antalya attracted players from as far afield as the USA, Vietnam and Kazakhstan, but saw wins for some established Tour players. Daria Kasatkina (RUS) scored the biggest of her three tournament wins so far this season, adding to 14 & Under titles in Togliatti and Mogiliov with a victory over third seed Tina Bokhua (RUS) in the girls’ final. The doubles title went to Australian-Turkish pair of Skye Hopper and Busra Kayrun.
The boys’ title was won by second seed Alexander Lebedyn (UKR) who lost just sixteen games in six matches to secure his second 16 & Under title. His opponent, Artur Shakhnubaryan, was a late entry to the event, and won seven matches to progress to the final from the qualifying competition, beating top seed Mikheil Khmiadashvili (GEO) along the way before running out of gas against the in-form Ukrainian. Khmiadashvili & Lebedyn also reached the doubles final, but were unable to play the match due to an injury to the Georgian, handing the title to Sergey Baryshev (RUS) and Giorgi Javakhshvili (GEO).
The Category 2 Elite Open in Novi Sad was affected by rain throughout the week, though the singles events managed to reach a conclusion, with Pavel Staubert (CZE) and Ioana Rosca (ROU) winning their second titles of the season. Staubert, seeded #4, overcame a fightback from ninth seeded Serb Goran Markovic to take the boys’ title 7-6(1) 1-6 6-3, while Rosca ousted Eva Zagorac (SLO), who was appearing in her second final in eight days, 6-1 6-4.
With the Easter holidays upon us, this is set to be another busy week on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, with 12 & Under events in Antalya (TUR), Bressuire (FRA), Guimarães (POR) and Maglie (ITA), 14 & Under events in Lecce (ITA), Tel Aviv (ISR), Azores (POR), Zagreb (CRO) and Trnava (SVK), and 16 & Under tournaments in Pancevo (SRB) and Kópavogur (ISL). Keep up with all the latest draws and results here.