Junior Wimbledon Preview

As well as the climax of the main tournament, the second week of Wimbledon sees the junior tournament take place. Often an opportunity to spot some of the stars of the future, we look at eight players that are likely to contest the later stages of the competition:

Nick Krygios

Nationality: Australian

Senior Ranking: 218

Junior Ranking: 1

2012 Junior Wimbledon: QF (Lost to Gianluigi Quinzi 6-3, 6-1)

The Australian Open champion, Nick Kyrgios, comes into Wimbledon as the top seed and will be optimistic of adding a second Grand Slam title to his collection. His preparations for this tournament could not have been any better, winning in Roehampton without being remotely tested. He reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year, before losing to Gianluigi Quinzi, but has progressed significantly over the past twelve months.

One ITF and one challenger title on the main tour have shown his ability, but he really came to the public’s attention when he beat Radek Stepanek in straight sets at Roland Garros before putting in a highly respectable performance against 10^th seed, Marin Cilic, in the second round.

He is clearly the most talented player in the field and the grass courts seem to suit his game nicely. If he plays well, he will be very difficult to stop.

Laslo Djere

Nationality: Serbian

Senior Ranking: 881

Junior Ranking: 4

2012 Junior Wimbledon: N/A

Laslo Djere is the fourth seed, but has struggled to make any impact in Grand Slams, losing in the last 16 in Paris and the first round in Australia. He reached the final of the Eddie Herr tournament late last year and backed that up by winning the Orange Bowl, but has made little impact off the clay.

He has virtually no experience on grass, having played his first match on the surface in Roehampton this week, losing in straight sets to Enzo Couacaud. It is difficult to see him progressing far in this tournament despite his ranking.

Christian Garin

Nationality: Chilean

Senior Ranking: 493

Junior Ranking: 5

2012 Junior Wimbledon: R32 (Lost to Gianluigi Quinzi 6-1, 6-7, 8-6)

The French Open champion is another player that is far more at home on the clay, but it would be wrong to write him off here. A tight defeat to eventual semi-finalist Gianluigi Quinzi showed that he is capable of playing on this surface. He reached the semi-final in Halle last year and the second round in Roehampton, beaten by eventually Wimbledon finalist Luke Saville.

He has a chance of a good run, particularly given he is in the same quarter as Djere. British hopeful, Luke Bambridge, could be a tough opponent in the third round, but the Chilean has a decent opportunity for a run deep into the tournament.

Kyle Edmund

Nationality: British

Senior Ranking: 385

Junior Ranking: 53

2012 Junior Wimbledon: R64 (Lost to Mitchell Krueger 7-5, 6-0)

Kyle Edmund is undoubtedly Britain’s best hope for a junior Wimbledon champion. He had a disappointing first round defeat last year, but he has enjoyed some good results since, winning the doubles at both the US Open and the French Open, as well as beating Kenny de Schepper and pushing Gilles Simon and Grega Zemlja on the main tour.

He has a relatively straightforward run to the semi-final and the experience that he has gained in both the main draw here against Jerzy Janowicz and in his last couple of tournament on the grass will set him in good set for a real title challenge.

Alexander Zverev

Nationality: German

Senior Ranking: 783

Junior Ranking: 3

2012 Junior Wimbledon: N/A

The younger brother of Mischa, Alexander Zverev is the third seed for this tournament and had a good warm-up with a run to the final in Roehampton. He was beaten comprehensively in the final by Nick Kyrgios, but his run showed his ability on this surface. He reached the final of the French Open as well, so he comes into this tournament on a good run of form.

Seeded to meet Kyle Edmund in the semi-final, it would be a surprise if he does not make it that far, although the unseeded Lucas Gomez, who won Halle, could provide a stern test.

Gianluigi Quinzi

Nationality: Italian

Senior Ranking: 405

Junior Ranking: 7

2012 Junior Wimbledon: SF (Lost to Luke Saville 6-3, 6-4)

Long touted as one of the most talented junior players, Gianluigi Quinzi will be looking to go one step further than last year and reach his first Grand Slam final. He lost to Luke Saville last year, but beat the likes of Nick Kyrgios and Christian Garin, showing that he should not be afraid of anyone in this field. He lost a tight match to Alexander Zverev in Roehampton this week in his warm-up for the tournament.

Quinzi is another of those that has gained some experience on the main tour in recent months, winning his first senior title last month. He certainly has the talent to challenge for this title and will fancy his chances of going deep into the tournament.

Nikola Milojevic

Nationality: Serbian

Senior Ranking: N/A

Junior Ranking: 2

2012 Junior Wimbledon: QF (Lost to Luke Saville 7-5, 5-4 RET)

The second seed had a disappointing warm-up for this event, losing to Stefano Napolitano in Roehampton this week, but does have a junior grass court title to his name, having won in Halle last year. He reached the quarter-finals in both Roehampton and Wimbledon last year, suggesting that, while grass may not be his favourite surface, he is capable on it.

He reached the semi-final at Roland Garros, but given that he has some tricky opponents in his quarter of the draw, it would be relatively surprising to see Milojevic going much further than the quarter-final in this tournament.

Enzo Couacaud

Nationality: French

Senior Ranking: 715

Junior Ranking: 18

2012 Junior Wimbledon: QF (Lost to Filip Peliwo 6-4, 1-6, 6-3)

Finally, a potential outsider for the tournament is Frenchman, Enzo Couacard. He is unseeded, but has had some good results on grass in the past, reaching the semi-final in Roehampton this week before running up against the eventual winner, Nick Kyrgios. Last year, he recorded a straight sets win in Roehampton over Filip Peliwo, who would eventually lift the Wimbledon title, as well as beating British hope, Liam Broady, at Wimbledon, before losing to Peliwo in the quarter-finals.

He will fancy his chances of reaching the quarter-finals from Milojevic’s section and once he gets on a run, he will fancy his chances of going further. He has plenty of experience of playing on the grass, and it took the eventual champion to stop him last year.