The highlight of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour last week was the Category 1 International Tournment of Avvenire in Milan, Italy. The presence of the ITF International Touring Teams ensured that many of the best 16 & Under players from around the world were in attendance, though it was to be European players that came out on top. Italian 15th seed Filippo Baldi emerged from a tough draw to take the boys’ crown, beating top seed and Race #1 Petros Chrysochos (CYP) in the semi-finals before going on to beat Lautaro Pane of Argentina 7-6(7) 6-0 in the championship deciding match.
The girls’ event saw Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus avenge her loss to Moldova’s Aliona Bolsova in last week’s Montecatini final by coming from behind to beat the top seed 5-7 6-3 6-4 in the quarter finals before posting a final upset of second seed Anna Bondar (HUN) to claim the title. There were no hard feelings between ITF/Tennis Europe Touring Team-mates Bolsova & Shymanovic though, as the pair also teamed up to take the doubles title.
The boys’ doubles also went to a pair from the ITF/Tennis Europe Team, currently in the middle of a 5-week tour. Petros Chrysochos teamed with Ukraine’s Alexander Lebedyn to beat singles winner Baldi and his Argentinian partner Francisco Bahamonde 3-6 6-3 10-8, and secure their second consecutive Category 1 doubles title, having also triumphed in Montecatini. Gallery.
Karlo Lozic scored a home win in the boys’ singles at the Category 2 16 & Under Marin Suica Open in Croatia, brushing to a 6-4 6-2 victory over David Micevski (MKD) to record his second tournament win of 2012. Nina Potocnik won the girls’ singles. In her first appearance on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour this year, the Slovenian won all of her matches in straight sets, including a 6-4 7-6(4) final win over top seed Tereza Mihalikova (SVK). The doubles titles went to Domen Gostincar (SLO) & Filip Grbic (SRB) and Nina Alibalic & Petra Robic (CRO).
The Amos Mansdorf 2 16 & Under event in Ashkelon proved to be a successful event for Israel’s boys, who wrapped up both singles and doubles titles. Top seed Yankel Zemel reversed the result of the final of the first event in Ashkelon the previous week, surviving a second set hiccup to beat compatriot Ram Kapach 6-4 0-6 6-4. Kapach also lost in the doubles final as he and partner Sagi Baranes fell to Edan Bakshi & Yannai Barkai.
The girls’ tournament saw Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya continue her successful stay in Israel, winning the singles and doubles for a second consecutive week. She teamed up with Switzerland’s Alessia Welti to take the doubles title, and fought past the same player 3-6 6-3 6-3 to take the singles crown.
The Category 3 16 & Under Toyota Cup in Siauliai, Lithuania was a great event for home player Lukas Zvikas, who upset top seed Maxim Tybar (BLR) in the semi finals before going on to beat #2 Mikus Losbergs (LAT) to take his first ever Tennis Europe Junior Tour singles title. The previous day, he teamed with Hendrik Inno (EST) to take the doubles title.
Valeriya Zeleva of Russia matched his achievements by winning both girls’ events. She beat Hanna Kryvatulava (BLR) in three sets to win the singles and teamed with compatriot Elisabeth Lyukshinova for the doubles.
There were two joint 14 and 16 & Under events this week, in Tbilisi (GEO) and Nastola (FIN). At the Tbilisi Cup, Pavel Kotov won an all-Russian 14&U boys’ final, beating David Norakidze 6-3 6-4 to take his first Tour title. The 16 & Under final also saw two players from the nation face off, as top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas outlasted Greek compatriot Dimitris Stavropoulos 6-3 4-6 6-4. Mikayel Avetisyan & Arshak Ghazaryan became the first Armenian players to win a title on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour this year, teaming up to win the 16 & Under doubles, while the boys 14s title went to Irakli Metreveli (GEO) & Artem Rolich (UKR).
The girls’ 14&U title went to Mariam Bolkvadze, who won a battle of two home players, beating Ana Akhalkatsi 6-3 6-3 for her second successive Tour title, and then reappeared in the 16 & Under doubles final, where she and partner Tamar Kutubidze took the winner’s trophy. Medea Petrishvili had earlier ensured a home winner of the girls’ 14 & Under doubles alongside Ukrainian partner Aza Petrova, but Alina Zubkova of Belarus put an end to hopes of a Georgian sweep of the girls’ titles, beating Ekaterine Lasareishvili 7-6(1) 62 in the 16 & Under singles final.
Over in Finland, the Pajulahti Junior Tournament also saw some strong performances from home players, especially in the 16 & Under event, where Finnish boys won both singles and doubles titles. Julius Kaverinen beat compatriot Alex Hedman for the loss of just three games to take his first ever title, while Pyry Hyrkkonen & Kim Kauppila won the doubles.
Milka-Emilia Pasanen was another Finnish finalist, losing to Aleksandra Vostrikova of Russia in both the singles and doubles finals. Vostrkova teamed with compatriot Elizveta Voranova to take the doubles, and has now swept both titles in two successive touraments, having done the same in Tallinn a fortnight ago.
Kristjan Tamm of Estonia survived a tense second set to beat Latvia’s Gustavs Lukstins 2-6 7-6(5) 61 in the 14 & Under boys’ final. There was similar fightback in the decisive girls’ match as top seed Valeriya Yushchenko recovered to beat fellow-Russian Polina Bakhmutina 4-6 7-5 6-0 to take her third title of the season. Yushchenko also teamed up with Maria Galiy (RUS) to win the doubles, with the boys’ doubles going to another Russian team, top seeds Alexey Aleshchev & Dionis Polikhronidi.
14 & Under
The Category 3 Mostar Open in Bosnia & Herzegovina saw second seed Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia continue his good run of form, easing to a 6-2 6-1 win over Croatian Karlo Divkovic in the final. Kecmanovic has now won two consecutive events, having taken the title in Tuzla a fortnight ago, and extends his Tour win streak to nine matches.
The girls’ final saw Lea Boskovic (CRO) concede just two games to home player Medina Sahinagic. Boskovic also took the doubles title alongside Lejla Colic (BIH), while the boys’ title went to Romanian pair Valentin Popescu & Ioan Vidan.
The Category 3 TC As Cup in Skopje saw Ioana Minca of Romania keep alive her impressive win streak. She beat another Dutch player, Dewi Dijkman, in straight sets, adding the doubles title for good measure alongside fellow-Romanian Oana Gavrila. The win marks the fourth consecutive tournament that Minca has won both singles and doubles (with Gavrila each time), giving her a win streak of 20 matches in singles, and 14 in doubles.
Top seeded Turk Ergi Kirkin took the boys’ title. He lost just fifteen games in five matches, and beat Dutch fifth seed Tom Floris Moonen for the title. Moonen earned some consolation in the doubles event, where he teamed with compatriot Bart Stevens to win the tournament, their second of the season.
The Vilamoura International, a Category 3 event in Portugal, saw a boys’ final between the top two seeds, with home favourite Tiago Caçao scoring a hard fought win over Britain’s Marcus Walters 7-6(8) 7-6(10) to take his second title of the year.
If Walters was disappointed at losing the singles final, he made up for it by returning with Matthew Story to win the doubles final over Salvador Bandeira (POR) & Sergey Schetinin (RUS).
The girls’ title was won by Germany’s Vivian Wolff. The top seed lost 13 games en route to the title, including her 6-3 6-2 win over Russia’s Kristina Kislyak in the final. All finalists in the girls’ doubles were from the host nation, with Marta Oliveira & Sofia Sualehe taking the title.
12 & Under
The week’s only 12 & Under event was the 8th International Wiener Stadiche in Cacak, Serbia, where Bodin Zarkovic flew the home flag. After flirting with defeat in his first round match, coming from a set down to outlast Italy’s Simone Camposeo 3-6 7-5 6-3, Zarkovic swept through the rest of the tournament, winning his next five matches in straight sets to take the singles title (beating Russia’s Alexander Shevchenko in the final), and teaming with Tomas Machac (CZE) to win the doubles.
Anastasia Kulikova (RUS) claimed her fourth title of the year so far by beating home hope Nikolina Dzunhov for the girls singles, while the doubles title went to another Russian, Daria Solovyeva, and Australia’s Stephanie Belovukovic.
The Tennis Europe Junior Tour continues this week with 10 tournaments taking place across the continent. You can keep up with all the latest draws and results here.