INTERNATIONAL
NEWS
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US Open -
JUNIORS BLAST OFF September
6 -- The US Open Junior Championships got under way today featuring 128 of
the best young players in the world, 64 boys and 64 girls. Barbara Wancke reports. Great
Britain’s Oliver Golding failed to make the main draw when he lost to
Maximilian Neuchrist from Austria, 7-5 2-6 6-3, in the final round of the
boys qualifying competition on Saturday. With
no British interest in the boy’s singles, the girls are quite another story. Lead
by Heather Watson, who is seeded 11th, the contingent includes Laura Robson
and Stephanie Cornish. Robson,
who so narrowly missed a chance to qualify for the main draw when she lost a
heartbreaking third set tiebreaker in the final round, got off to a flying
start with a comprehensive and convincing win over Ons Jabeur from Tunisia,
6-0 6-1. “A
little less drama… I started well, played well so not much to say,” said
Robson. This
is her first visit to New York City and she took a couple of days off to do
some sightseeing, visiting the World Trade Centre and other sights but no
retail therapy as yet. |
She
is focused on winning the tournament. “I’ve
played quite a few junior events and I’m really looking to do well this week.
To be honest, I’m looking to win it,” she admitted. Asked
about her possible participation in the Hopman Cup, she said she didn’t know
if this was confirmed or not but would enjoy the experience of playing with
Andy Murray. “As
long as I don’t hit in the head, it will be a good experience,” Robson
laughed. “I
know Andy, we’re not like best buddies, but he talked to me during qualies,
which was nice.” Heather
Watson, too, came out of the blocks firing well, winning the first set rather
easily but meeting much stiffer opposition in the second from Ksenia
Kirillova from Russia, who eventually took it in the tiebreak. The
British girl shook off the challenge with an impressive run of games in the
decider, winning through 6-2 6-7(5) 6-1 in 152 minutes. Cornish
plays on Monday. America’s
Asia Muhammad, who received a wild card into the junior singles draw produced
the biggest upset of the day when she defeated top-seeded Kristina Mladenovic
from France, 6-1 6-4. Noppawan
Lertcheewakarn from Thailand, winner of the singles and doubles at Wimbledon
this year, |
is
the second seed and was untroubled by Germany’s Sina Hass, whom she
dispatched 6-4 6-1. She now becomes the favourite for the title. In
the boy’s singles, the second-seeded Daniel Berta from Sweden was dispatched
out of the draw by Tennys Sandgren from Tennessee in a third set tiebreaker,
4-6 6-3 7-6(5). Other
seeds to fall were Julen Uriguen, the 13th seed from Guana at the
hands of Filip Horansky from Slovakia, 6-3 6-3, and Venezuela’s David Souto,
the 14th seed, who lost to Jack Sock, an American wild card, 4-6
6-1 6-4. The
top seed, Yuki Bhambri from Indonesia, however, had little difficulty with
America’s Jordan Cox, dismissing him 6-2 6-1. Australian
Bernard Tomic also made a successful start to his campaign with a comfortable
straight-sets win over Finn Henri Laaksonen. Bidding to add a second grand slam crown to his
2008 Australian Open junior title, 16-year-old Tomic cruised to a 6-4 6-3 win
in less than an hour at Flushing Meadows. |
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