Many of the world’s best 14 & Under players travelled to France last week for one of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour’s biggest events, Les Petits As in Tarbes. With past winners including Grand Slam champions such as Kim Clijsters, Rafael Nadal and Juan Carlos Ferrero, the tournament attracts big crowds and is a highlight of the calendar for many of the players.
Players travel from all over the world to compete in Tarbes, and the trip was especially worthwhile for Catherine Cartan Bellis of the United States, who capped a remarkable stay in Europe by winning both singles and doubles at a Category 1 event for a second consecutive week. Having triumphed in Bolton seven days ago, she dominated top seed Andreea Amalia Rosca in the final, conceding just three games to her Romanian opponent. As in Bolton, Bellis had earlier teamed up with compatriot Jaeda Daniel to take the doubles title, beating Czech pair Magdalena Pantuckova & Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 7-5 in the final.
This year’s boys final was a see-saw battle that saw third seed Samuele Ramazzotti of Italy overcome top seed and European #1 Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia. After scoring an early break, Ramazzotti was forced to a tie-break in the first set, eventually winning it 10-8. Fired up, Kecmanovic fought back to win six consecutive games to level at one set all. He failed to keep the momentum though, and the Italian player fought back in a similar fashion, winning all six games of the third set to take the championships and his fourth Tennis Europe Junior Tour title.
Kecmanovic will hold on the top spot in the rankings for now, but with the win Ramazzotti will move into second place. Just 40 points separate the two from the winners of the doubles event in Tarbes, Artem Dubrivnyy (RUS) and Ergi Kirkin (TUR), with the four players likely to battle it out for the top spot throughout the next few weeks and months.
Russian players dominated at the Category 2 Cosmos Cup in Mogiliev, Belarus. Alen Avidzba has been quick to make an impact on the 14 & Under circuit this season, winning his first doubles title a fortnight ago, and wasted no time in following up with a singles win. Seeded #1, he blasted through the main draw without the loss of a set, beating third seeded compatriot Dimitriy Voronin 7-6(1) 6-4 in the final.
The girls’ final was another all-Russian battle, with Olesya Pervushina securing her first 14 & Under title with a hard fought win over Elena Rybakina. Pervushina had to fight back after losing the first set and eventually ran out a 3-6 6-3 6-4 winner. Both Pervushina and Avidzba are used to winning at this time of year; both players contributed to Russia’s 12 & Under Winter Cups victories during the same week last season.
Both singles winners also featured in the doubles finals, though neither was able to sweep both titles. Pervushina teamed up with Sofya Golubovskaya but lost to Rybakina and Maria Galiy 6-4 7-5, while Avidzba and Voronin lost a thrilling match to Artsiom Ausiyevich & Martin Borisiouk – who became the only home players to claim a title – 5-7 7-5 10-8.
The week’s only 16 & Under event was the Category 3 Vsevolozhsk Cup in Russia where home players managed a clean sweep of the titles. The boys’ final saw third seed Timur Razmaitov record his first Tennis Europe Junior Tour singles title with a 6-0 7-5 win over Yaroslav Prostakov, a day after teaming with Igor Broun to win the doubles.
Second seed Valeriya Zeleva survived a second set lapse to beat Valeriya Pogrebnyak 6-4 3-6 6-1 and claim her second 16 & Under title. Pogrebnyak had earlier teamed up with Daria Ponomareva to take the girls’ doubles with a straightforward win over Belarusian pair Zlata Falei & Hanna Kryvatulava.
This week the Tour turns its attention to team competitions, with the qualifying rounds of the Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD taking place from 1-3 February. You can keep up with the latest draws, results and photos throughout the weekend here (14 & Under) and here (16 & Under).