Last week the Tennis Europe Junior Tour hosted five events across the continent for players of three age groups.
The final of the Category 2 Mladost Grill Open in Zagreb (CRO) saw Marko Osmakcic continue his headline-making start to the year. The Swiss wrapped up his fifth singles title of the season so far with a 6-1 6-4 victory over second seed Mate Valkusz (HUN). The victory must have been a satisfying one for the top seed, who had lost to the same opponent in the doubles final the day before, when Vlakusz teamed with compatriot Akos Kotorman to outlast Osmakicic & partner Zvonimir Oreskovic (CRO) in a match tie-break.
Osmakcic’s victory means that he has now reached the final of his last five tournaments, winning four, and has established a 35-3 win/loss record so far in 2012. Significantly, the points earned in Zagreb draw level with top-ranked Kenneth Raisma (EST), completing a rise to the top of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour rankings that has seemed inevitable during the early part of the season.
Home players dominated the girls’ events in Zagreb, with Petra Granic sweeping both singles and doubles titles. She teamed with Croatian compatriot Marija Curnic to take the doubles crown on Saturday over Anna Gabric (GER) & Medina Sahinagic (BIH), and went on to win a tough three-set battle against eleventh seeded Slovenia Hana Mraz, who was playing in her first Tour singles final, 6-1 3-6 6-4 to take the singles.
A day after teaming to win the doubles title at the expense of Czech pair Filip Duda & Petr Nouza, Louis Wessels (GER) and Stefanos Tstitsipas (GRE) faced off for the singles title at the Category 2 Trnava Cup in Slovakia. Both players already had one singles title under their belt in 2012, but it was the lower-ranked Wessels who came out on top, recording a 6-4 6-3 win that will see him break into the 14 & Under Top 20 for the first time next week.
Russia’s Viktoria Kuzmova prevented another sweep of titles by the winning the girls’ singles final over doubles champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 6-3, collecting her second title of the season in the process.
A day earlier, Vondrousova had partnered Anna Kynclova to doubles victory in an all-Czech final against Beata Kotlarova & Magdalena Pantuckova, winning the title in a match tie-break.
The Category 3 IV Gutysport Open in Magaluf (ESP) saw a cosmopolitan entry list that produced champions from different countries in each event. The girls’ tournament was won by top seeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya, who won her second title of the season by beating Algerian Ines Ibbou 6-4 6-2.
Germany’s Daniel Altmaier claimed his first Tour singles title with a 6-2 6-3 win over Spanish qualifier Carles Sarrio Tamarit in the boy’s event.
The doubles events went to Beatriz Rodrigues Bento & Marta Oliveira (POR), who edged Russians Elena Belenova & Ekaterina Kunina 6-1 5-7 (10-8), and Mirko Martinez & Gian Seiler (SUI), who conceded just four games to Maksymilian Raupuk & Robert Wrzesinski (POL).
16 & Under
Petar Conkic & Filip Grbic flew the home flag at the Category 2 16 & Under Pecin Memorial Cup event in Pancevo (SRB), teaming up to win the doubles title (beating Stefan Blanusa (SRB) & Miroslav Georgiev (BLR) for the loss of just three games), before facing off for the singles crown.
Lower-ranked Conkic emerged victorious, dropping just two games on his way to a first Tour title, just one week after reaching his first final in Novi Sad.
Valeriya Urzhumova of Russia claimed the girls’ title with a 6-1 6-4 win over Romania’s Andrada Ioana Surdeanu. In the semi-finals, Urzhumova survived a marathon 2-6 6-2 7-5 test against top seed Kateryna Sliusar to reach her second final of the season.
Sliusar went on the win the doubles title alongside Greta Kerezaite (LTU), with a straight sets victory over home hopes Jelena Lukic & Milica Panic.
12 & Under
The week’s only 12 & Under event was the 23 April Cup, a 64-player draw event in Antalya, Turkey, which saw Russia’s leading players of the age group continue their strong start to the season, sweeping all available titles.
The girls’ event proved to be a repeat of the tournament in Ufa (RUS) in the second week of the season. There, Olesya Pervushina, beat Anastasia Potapova for the singles title after the pair had teamed up to take the doubles. Both results were the same in Antalya, though Pervushina was able to win in straight sets this time. Curiously, the boys’ doubles champions in Ufa – Alen Avidzba & Nikolay Vylegzhanin – also won in Antalya, with Vyleghzanin also going on to secure the singles title, at the expense of Switzerland’s Mischa Lanz.
Next week
This week is set to busiest of the season so far, with a total of nine Tennis Europe Junior Tour events being held. The 12 & Under circuit visits Tbilisi (GEO), Bressuire (FRA) and Rakovnik (CZE). Romania hosts its first-ever Category 1 14 & Under event in Bucharest, with other events for the age group taking place in Adan (TUR), Solin (CRO) and Tirana (ALB), while the 16 & Unders play in Budapest (HUN) and Brno (CZE).
You can keep up with all the latest draws and results here. The Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy in Bucharest is also offering Live Scoring and Live Streaming of matches online when main draw play gets underway on Monday 23rd April.