Junior Tennis Review - 10/02

Sandra Samir won her sixth junior title in Hammamet this week

ITF Juniors Tennis Club Hammamet (Tunisia) – Grade 2

It was a tournament that Sandra Samir was expected to win and the 16-year old Egyptian did not disappoint. After dropping a set in her first match against Anastasiya Shoshyna, she was flawless throughout the rest of the tournament, eventually defeating Anna Bondar of Hungary 6-4, 7-5 in the final. It was a sixth junior title for the Eddie Herr finalist, who is likely to find herself seeded at Roland Garros in May. The doubles saw a second dose of heartache for Anna Bondar, who with her partner Rebeka Stolmar, lost in two tiebreaks to the second seeds, Justina Mikulskyte and Mirabelle Njoze.

Donetsk City Cup (Ukraine) – Grade 2

Boasting the top seed in the tournament in Helen Ploskina, the Ukrainian fans were optimistic of a home winner this week. However, it was the unfancied Maryna Veksler, ranked 389 in the juniors, who came closest to providing a Ukrainian champion, having beaten Ploskina in the semi-final. In her first junior tournament in over six months, Veksler beat two three seeded players on her run to the final, but eventually fell short against the fourth seed from Russia, Natalia Vikhlyantseva. It was a third junior title for Vikhlyantseva, but her first at Grade 2 level, and she capped an excellent week by lifting the doubles title with her partner Veronica Miroshnichenko.

Inka Bowl (Peru) – Grade 2

Julieta Lara Estable, clinched the biggest title of her career thus far by lifting the Inca Bowl trophy. The unseeded Argentinian, ranked 797 in the juniors, was rarely troubled during her run to the title, dropping just a single set in her five matches. Her biggest challenge was against the top seeded American, Dasha Ivanova, in the quarter-finals, but she came through that and beat Raquel Pedraza 6-4, 7-6 in the final. The doubles saw Mary Catherine Haffey and Alexis Prokopuik, pairing together for the first time, beat Anna Brogan and Meghan Kelley in the final.

Swiss Junior Trophy (Switzerland) – Grade 4

Swiss hopes were high for a home champion and the local fans were rewarded when 15-year old Tamara Arnold came out victorious in an all-Swiss final, beating Medina Sahinagic 6-3, 6-0. It was a first career title for Arnold in her first ever final, who will now be hoping to continue the good form into the future. Beating three of the top eight seeds during her run to the title will give her plenty of confidence to push up the rankings. There was also home success in the doubles as third seeds, Chiara Grimm and Aline Thommen beat the Dutch pair of Elise Moeyes and Claire Verwerda in the final.

2014 Tecnifibre Tennis Central Championships (New Zealand) – Grade 4

It was a week to remember for the second seed, Destanee Aiava. The 13-year old Australian continued her extraordinary start to the year with her first ever junior title. After reaching the semi-final in Traralgon and the third round of the Australian Open, she breezed through the field, dropping just one set, capping it with a 6-2, 7-5 win in the final against the top seed, Chihiro Muramatsu. In the doubles, there was success for the Hule sisters with Chloe and Petra defeating Jiaqing Mo and Le Zhao in the final.

Nairobi International Junior Championships III (Kenya) – Grade 5

Zimbabwe’s Nicole Dzenga, the eighth highest ranked African junior, came through to lift her first junior title, beating Israeli Keren Rozen in the final. It was a tough battle in the final, but Dzenga clinched the final set 6-4, having split the opening two sets, but Rozen will also be pleased to have reached her first ever final. Mariana Carreira and Georgia Lawson lifted their second doubles title in as many weeks as they crushed the second seeded pair of Devanshi Bhimjiyani and Isha Budwal in the final 6-1, 6-0.

ITF Junior Tournament: Egypt 1 (Egypt) – Grade 5

The home fans in Cairo had an all-Egyptian final to enjoy as third seed, Iaila Elnimr, defeated his compatriot, Dina Hegab 7-5, 6-1 to lift the title. The 14-year old won his first ever junior title, battling his way through a number of tough three matches to clinch the title. He made it a pair of trophies as he joined Lamis Alhussein Abdel Aziz to win the doubles, beating Rana Essam and Vicky Geurinckx in the final.