The biggest event on the calendar since Wimbledon for the junior tour came last weekend, in the form of the European Junior Championships. While the tournament was not chock full of the brightest talents on the circuit, stiff competition was still out en masse, including Wimbledon semifinalist Harold Mayot (FRA), Roehampton champion Gauthier Onclin (BEL), and Cuenca champion Flavio Cobolli (ITA). However, none of these young men were crowned the winners this weekend, with the trophy going to Valentin Royer (FRA), who battled past Dalibor Svrcina (CZE) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the final. The final was probably his most challenging match of the week, aside from his quarterfinal against Peter Fajda, the young Hungarian that took down top seed Onclin in the previous round, and has been putting together some good results in Europe this spring and summer, especially in doubles, capturing two titles in the past month. For Royer, this capped off a brilliant stretch, where he swept both the singles and doubles in Klosters, partnering the aforementioned Mayot as they blazed through the field, as well as winning his tuneup in Obrentfelden the week before, not dropping a set there either. Royer rises back to 17 in the world, just off his career high of 16.
Category: ITF Juniors
Junior Wimbledon Recap
He was talked about in our preview for the Junior Championships, and he was crowned the winner a week later. Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN) is the Junior Wimbledon champion, after defeating Carlos Gimeno Valero (ESP) 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Mochizuki had never played an event on grass before arriving in England to play the J1’s at Nottingham and Roehampton, but quickly acclimated due to his great feel around the net, and some surprisingly powerful groundstrokes from the baseline. However, his journey to the final was not easy. Valentin Royer (FRA) was his first victim, but that only came after an 8-6 final set. After getting to the quarterfinals, Mochizuki was expecting to face top seed and junior RG champ Holger Rune, but he was upset by British eccentric Anton Matusevich. However, he was not to be upset, cruising to a 6-3, 6-3 win. The next match was the toughest for Shintaro, as he took a 10-8 thriller over training partner and close friend Martin Damm (USA). Damm, the son of former US Open doubles finalist Martin Damm, has put together a productive year of his own, but Mochizuki found his level late on to take the match.
Gimeno Valero was the product of a bottom half that fell apart quickly, as he himself took down 3 seed Thiago Augustin Tirante (ARG), and only faced two seeds from there, #13 Filip Jianu and #17 Harold Mayot. The Spaniard was a winner at the J1 Lambare this Feburary, but this event was his breakthrough. However, Mochizuki was much more comfortable with the conditions and the pressure than Valero was, folding quickly.
Juniors action kicks back up soon with the European Championships in Klosters, as well as a host of other events around the world!
Junior Wimbledon Preview
While the pros are occupying the TV for the majority of next week at Wimbledon, the juniors will be battling it out at the All-England Club for the Junior Wimbledon trophy. This surface is an uncommon one for juniors, as there are only two J1 tournaments, Nottingham and Roehampton, that comprise the grass slate for juniors before Wimbledon. This, in combination with it being alien to either hard or clay, means the field is usually wide open due to the lack of experience. However, these are the three players the Up The Line Tennis group thinks could hoist the trophy at the end of the week.
Gauthier Onclin (BEL) (#17)
The Belgian is the most recent champion on the ITF circuit, with his Roehampton win. He has good weapons, including a pretty big serve and good forehand, even if the technique looks a little stiff. When he has time, the shot is a big weapon. He has a tough draw from the start, with Anton Matusevich, a quarterfinalist at Roehampton, then potentially Holger Rune once again, this time early in the third round. It won’t be easy for Onclin, but he has the confidence and form to feel good about making a run.
Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN) (#10)
Shintaro won the other grass court event in Nottingham without dropping a set in a blazing run, and was only stopped from clashing with Holger Rune by the aforementioned Matusevic. He’s got good volleys and feel, and a consistent game from the baseline. The only minor things against him is that his forehand is loopy in nature, and that his serve is not big, relying more on spin. Mochizuki does have the advantage of a seemingly easier draw, only facing Rune or Onclin in a potential quarterfinal. The Japanese boy seems to be a less likely favorite, but his all surface game translates well to the next level. Could he be the next Nishikori?
Holger Rune (DEN) (#3)
As to be expected, the top ranked Dane has to command a place on our list, simply because he is the most recent Junior Grand Slam champion, and has played well on grass so far. He has pounding groundstrokes, which constantly land deep in the court. Obviously his serving and volleying is not elite, given that his best surface is clay, but less players at the junior level do that well, meaning grass court tennis can be full of rallies. The Dane is in the quarter containing the two grass court champions mentioned above, but is still probably the favorite, but anything can happen.
Prediction- (1) Holger Rune d. (12) Liam Draxl
ITF J1 Roehampton Review
Gauthier Onclin (BEL) won the biggest title of his junior career on Friday, defeating Liam Draxl (CAN) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 for the J1 Roehampton title. Known as the biggest grass court tuneup for juniors prior to Wimbledon, the field was chock full of the top juniors, including 4 of the top 5 playing on the circuit right now. However, many of those juniors fell at early hurdles, including UVA freshman Brandon Nakashima in the second round, and Orange Bowl champion Otto Virtanen in the first round. The Belgian Onclin only dropped one set, in the first round, en route to the semifinals where he faced top seed and Roland Garros champion Holger Rune. Onclin won that 7-5 in the third, to face Draxl, who came through a very tough draw, beating the likes of Cannon Kingsley and Martin Damm, the latter in three sets. Draxl looked the better early in the final, getting his groundstrokes firing. However as the match went on, Onclin warmed up the serve forehand combination which carried him to his best result of his life. He looks good on this surface, but in juniors, anything can happen.
ITF Junior Roehampton Preview
The Roehampton J1 tournament is looking to be a talented lineup full of the top players as they get ready for Junior Wimbledon. As this is the final week to warm up for the Grand Slam, more and more players are taking this chance to get match play in and potentially gain points. The field is led by Junior #3 and Junior RG champion Holger Rune, but he is no easy favorite to take the title. Elliot Spirrizzi is a potential round of 16 opponent for the Dane, and Virginia freshman Brandon Nakashima or J1 Nottingham champion Shintaro Mochizuki could meet him in the quarters. For second seed and Milan winner Jonas Forejtek, Tyler Zink lurks in Round 3, and any one of Blu Baker, Carlos Garfia, or Emilio Nava may be a quarterfinal matchup. However, none of these players are our prediction to win. We believe Martin Damm, the rapid rising American, will take out 2018 Orange Bowl champion Otto Virtanen in the final, and set himself up for a big week at the All England Club.
UTL Tennis Prediction– Martin Damm d. Otto Virtanen 7-5, 6-4
Australian Open Juniors Review
Lorenzo Musetti did as a top seed was supposed to do, and took home the AO junior crown on Sunday, defeating American Emilio Nava in the final. The Italian cruised through his half of the draw, not dropping a set in the face of talented opponents including Liam Draxl and Nicolas Alvarez Varona. For Nava however, he had to fight hard to make it to the final on RLA. Titanic three setters with Bu Yuanchaokete, the second seed, Jiri Lehecka, Traralgon champion, and Filip Jianu, the Romanian junior #1 left him drained of energy but not drained in stamina and courage.
Musetti’s deft touch on his backhand was on display early, spinning drop shots and flicking passing shots past Nava at the net. However, at 3-3, a lapse in concentration gave Nava a chance to break, which he eagerly took and held well to grab the first set. Musetti upped his level in the second set, however, and dug out of a 0-40 hole at 2-2, grabbed two breaks, and trotted to a 6-2 win in the second set. However, the ultimate set narrowed down to a 10 point tiebreak, which was hotly contested up until the end. At 13-12, Nava hit a good serve to set up a potential winner, but he shanked the forehand long to hand Musetti his first Junior Grand Slam title of his career.
Next Up- The Junior circuit gets on the clay, and heads to Brazil for a G1 warm up in Criciuma, and then the Porte Alegre Junior Masters.
55th Copa del Cafe Roundup
Top seed Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN) continued his red-hot run of form continuing off the end of last year by defeating Martin Damm (USA), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to win the Copa del Cafe in San Jose, Costa Rica. Mochizuki’s best tournament win in his junior career sends the 15 year old to a career best rank of 34.
Mochizuki coasted through most of the week with his all court play and consistent forays to the net, however was dealt a tough match in the semifinals against British talent Blu Baker, having to fight hard to pull out a tough three setter, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. On the other side of the draw, Damm served big all week up until the final, including a resounding 6-2, 7-5 victory over Pierre Malan (RSA), and a 6-4, 6-3 decision over compatriot Alexander Lee (USA). However, the Japanese talent was able to overcome Damm, son of the Grand Slam doubles champion Martin Damm in another three setter.
Next Week- The AO Juniors have gotten underway this week. Subscribe to our email list for more constant coverage!
Traralgon Junior G1 ITF
A star-studded field in Traralgon, including 2018 Junior US Open Finalist Lorenzo Musetti and Orange Bowl Champ Otto Virtanen was blown apart by the third round, clearing the way for Jiri Lehecka (CZE) to win his first Junior title in 6 months, over Zane Khan (USA) in the final. Both players were blessed to have the draws open up for them, Khan with the losses of Musetti and Virtanen, while Lehecka was helped by not having any seeded matchups til a quarterfinal matchup with #4 seed Rinky Hijikata. However, Lehecka showed he was the better player with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 win over Khan, while his compatriot Tomas Berdych took a commanding win over Robin Haase in Melbourne.
Up Next for ITF Juniors
In Progress-
Coffee Bowl G1
Upcoming-
Australian Open Juniors
Up The Line Tennis 