|
|
| 26 Jun 2002 | |
| SW19 beckons for the top juniors |
The time of year has arrived for the juniors to put away their clay court shoes and head for the lawns of Wimbledon.
For most juniors, grass is an unknown quantity and many experience their first taste of grass on the hallowed turf of the All England Club.
The winner of the tournament is often the player who learns fastest to adapt their game and this year will be no different. Many Wimbledon Junior Champions have gone on to repeat their success by winning the Wimbledon crown, Bjorn Borg, Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg and Martina Hingis to name a few.
This year's boys’ field will be headed by Yeu-Tzuoo Wang from Chinese Taipei. The 17 year-old is making a return to junior tennis after an 8 month absence. Wang has been concentrating on ITF Men's Circuit events this year and has improved his ATP entry system ranking to no. 220 by playing tournaments in the Far East. Having reached the semi finals last year only to be ousted by the eventual champion, Roman Valent, Wang has developed a liking for the surface making him hungry to go one step further this year.
Hot on Wang’s heals is Argentinan Brian Dabul, the current World No.1 from Buenos Aires. Dabul would probably be the first to admit that grass isn’t his favourite surface, and last year, his first experience at Wimbledon, saw him lose in the first round. However, a year on, will Dabul have learnt how to master the green stuff?
This year French boys have almost monopolised the Grand Slams taking three of the four semi final spots in Australia and both places in the final at Roland Garros. Leading the challenge at Wimbledon will be Clement Morel, winner of the Australian Open and currently ranked No.2. Following closely behind will be Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, semi-finalist in Australia and quarter-finalist in Paris and Mathieu Montcourt who will be hoping to seize this opportunity to keep up with the success of his peers.
Alex Bogdanovic has a great chance of becoming the first Britain for forty years to lift the junior Wimbledon trophy. Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Bogdanovic moved to England with his parents when he was eight years old and last week the 18 year old proved he has the game for grass after winning the junior Stella Artois invitational event. However, what remains to be seen is if he will be able to cope with the pressure that comes with being a Brit at Wimbledon.
Australia’s Todd Reid will be looking to improve on his quarter-final appearance last year. Reid has already notched up some impressive performances this year, reaching the singles final and winning the doubles on home soil at the Australian Open. The 18 year old, now resident in Florida, has also proved that he can adapt his game to grass and last week gave Greg Rusedski a scare in Nottingham, taking the first set of their match 64 despite going on to lose in three.
In the girls’ draw current No.1 Barbora Strycova will be looking to add a second Grand Slam title to her collection. The Czech 2002 Australian Open champion has also notched up two Grand Slam doubles titles leading to a No.1 doubles ranking, thus proving that she can volley. On top of these credentials she also lists grass as one of her favourite surfaces.
Myriam Casanova will be one of Strycova’s main challengers for the title. The Swiss girl, currently ranked No.4 in juniors, accumulated some good results on grass last year, at Roehampton and also in Fed Cup and last week won through qualifying to land a place in the main draw.
2001 World Junior Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will return to Wimbledon looking for the junior Grand Slam title that has so far eluded her. After finishing runner up at Roland Garros and the US Open in 2001 the Russian will be hoping it could be third time lucky if she makes it as far as the final.
Australian Open semi-finalist Su Wei Hsieh is looking to improve on her second round exit last year. The diminutive 16 year old from Chinese Taipei has been concentrating on womens’ events this year but returns to Wimbledon hoping to emulate the success of her Asian counterpart Angelique Widjaja who took the title last year.
German Anna-Lena Groenefeld has risen rapidly up the rankings of late, winning recent tournaments in Belgium and Frankfurt and claiming a spot in the top ten rankings. In Frankfurt she defeated Barbora Strycova to take the title and as Strycova’s doubles partner in Paris picked up her first doubles Grand Slam title. The test for Groenefeld will be how she copes with the grass on her first visit to Wimbledon.
Fifteen year old Maria Sharapova could be a hot tip for the title this year. The Russian who trains at the Bolletieri Academy in Florida has attracted much press attention this year after winning a match as a Wild Card at the Indian Wells womens’ event in March. Fortunately Sharapova has the talent to justify the attention and reached the final of the Australian Open this year. This year will be her first visit to SW19 and she will be hoping to make a dream debut.
For daily reports on all the action at the junior Championships log on to www.itfjuniors.com from Saturday 29th June.
^ Back to Top
|
