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| 29 Aug 2002 | |
| Who will be the stars to shine in New York? |
The US Junior Open kicks off on Sunday 1st September and is sure to make for some very interesting viewing.
The boys’ draw, especially, is shaping up as a classic with the current top 10 ranked players all pitching up to take their chances. In that top ten are all three boys who have divided up this years’ Grand Slam honours so far, French boys Clement Morel (Australian Open) and Richard Gasquet (French Open) and Aussie Todd Reid (Wimbledon). Added to this list are the winners of each of the other Grade A tournaments this rollover year, Sweden’s Robin Soderling (Orange Bowl), Marcel Felder from Uruguay (Coffee Bowl), Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus (Osaka Mayor's Cup and Banana Bowl) and Argentina’s Brian Dabul (Italian Open).
All of these players will be only too aware that the past two winners of the US Open title, USA’s Andy Roddick in 2000 and Gilles Muller from Luxembourg in 2001, both went on to end the year as junior World Champion. The introduction of Grand Slam bonus points in 2002 has made the last Slam of the year even more important for those chasing the end of year title. The 500 points on offer means that a win by any of the top 9 boys would catapult them to the top of the rankings.
Of those most likely to shine in New York, Richard Gasquet looks like being one of the favourites. The 16 year French boy caused a sensation in 2002 by becoming the youngest person, at 15 years of age, ever to win an ATP Masters Series match. Gasquet then went on to prove he is no flash in the pan by winning his home Grand Slam and picking up a number of Future and Challengers titles during the summer, lifting his ATP ranking to 172. The test for the French boy will be whether he can translate his success from clay, where he has enjoyed most success, to the hard courts of Flushing Meadow.
The girls’ draw is altogether more unpredictable. Barbora Strycova, the current World ranked No.1 and Australian Open champion will be the outstanding favourite, due to the absence of the other Grand Slam winners. Roland Garros champion Angelique Widjaja has been trying her luck in the main draw, scoring a newsworthy win over Anna Kournikova in the first round. Wimbledon champion Vera Douchevina is also missing from the draw, making for one of the most open fields in the girls’ event in recent years. A win for Strycova would give her an almost unassailable lead in the race to be World Champion as she would get bonus points for her third Grade A win of the year.
The Russian girls have a tradition of doing well at the Grand Slams; they had two representatives in the Roland Garros semi-finals and took three of the four semis places at Wimbledon. One of those Wimbledon semifinalists, Maria Kirilenko, will be a serious threat in New York.
The US hasn’t had a home champion in the girls’ singles since 1995 when Tara Snyder claimed the title. This year their best chance of glory could come in the shape of 16 year old Ally Baker. Baker, who trains at the Evert Academy in Florida, was awarded a wild card into the main draw and was unlucky to go out in the first round to the experienced Elena Likhovtseva 46 62 76(3). The confidence that comes with knowing that she can compete with the best women out there could help her to bring the title home in the girls’ draw.
Action begins on Sunday 1st September with the fight for supremacy in the boys’ draw and the possibility of a new star emerging in the girls’ event. Our regular reporter, Eleanor Preston, will be keeping us up to date with the latest news in her daily reports from the Championships on www.itf juniors.com.
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