Russian players swept the singles titles at the European 16 & Under Championships in Moscow as Darya Kasatkina and Andrey Rublev each claimed the biggest titles of their junior careers so far.
Darya Kasatkina became the first Russian girl to take the title since Ksenia Pervak in 2005, scoring a straightforward 6-3 6-3 win over Switzerland’s Jil Belen Teichmann in the final.
Seeded second, Kasatkina had been made to work hard during the week, recovering from a set down to beat Spain’s Paula Badosa in the fourth round, and repeating the trick before surviving a final set tie break against Kristina Schmiedlova (SVK) in the quarterfinals.
Tenth seed Teichmann also endured some tough battles, outlasting Slovakia’s Katerina Stresnakova (conqueror of top seed Iryna Shymanovich) 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3 in the quarters before sealing a final berth with a 7-5 2-6 6-3 win over Nina Potocnik (SLO).
The final marked the second occasion this season that the pair had met in a major championship final, with Kasatkina having beaten Teichmann in the final of the Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD in February (Switzerland went on to win the tie 2-1). Both players will automatically qualify for the Tennis Europe Junior Masters in Reggio Calabria in October, where they will have the chance to renew their rivalry.
There was some consolation for Teichmann later on, as she returned to the court with Chiara Grimm to win the doubles title. The second seeds beat Hungary’s Anna Bondar & Fanny Stollar 6-1 6-4 to claim a second European Championship medal for each player (Grimm also won the 14 & under doubles gold alongside Belinda Bencic in 2011).
A home sweep of singles titles was assured after Kasatkina’s win, as the boys’ final would be between compatriots Andrey Rublev and Roman Safiullin, seeded second and third respectively. The pair had met on just one previous occasion on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, with Safiullin handing a three-set loss to his Winter Cups team-mate in the Category 1 Maia final two years ago.
The roles were reversed on this occasion though as Rublev weathered a second set fight back to emerge as champion after a lengthy 6-3 4-6 6-3 battle that sees him become the first Russian boy to win the 16 & Under event since Andrei Cherkasov in 1986. The dual wins for Kasatkina and Rublev mark the first time that Russia has ever won both singles at the same European Championship event.
The boys’ doubles went to Spain’s second seeds Jaume Munar Clar & Pedro Martinez Portero, who outlasted unseeded Danes Benjamin Hannestad & Christian Sigsgaard 7-5 3-6 [10-6]. Both players also reached the quarterfinals of the singles event.
Draws and Results
Boys Singles | Boys Doubles | Girls Singles | Girls Doubles | Photos