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| 09 Sep 2001 | |
| Mikaelian and Harkleroad ousted in semi-finals |
By Eleanor Preston
After seven tough days, this year’s junior US Open final line-up is complete, promising a super Sunday at Flushing Meadows.
Marion Bartoli and Svetlana Kuznetsova will play off for the girls' title and Gilles Muller and Yeu-Tzuoo Wang resume their Grand Slam rivalry as they go head to head for the boys’ trophy.
Bartoli beat America’s new sweetheart Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-3 and afterwards said she was pleased to emulate her idol Pete Sampras in making the US Open final. Bartoli had a confidence-boosting win over top seed Kaia Kanepi in the quarter-finals and was simply too strong against Harkleroad today. "I think against Kanepi it was very close and very tense," admitted Bartoli afterwards. "Against Ashley it was not such a hard challenge. Ashley doesn’t hit the ball like Kaia, Kaia hits the ball very hard. Ashley’s game is better for me."
Bartoli says she is thrilled to be in the US Open final, having been a fan of the tournament since watching Sampras pull off a famously gutsy win against Alex Corretja in 1996. "It was very important to me because that was the first match I ever saw. When you see clips on TV like that it gives you lots of courage to play tennis," she said.
She may need that courage against Kuznetsova, who had to battle all the way to beat second seed Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, fighting off not just Mikaelian but an attack of nerves as she was serving for the match at 5-4. "When you have the feeling you can get to the final you get a little bit nervous," explained Kuznetsova.
Her run this week represents a change in fortunes for the Russian, who admits that her confidence was low coming into the tournament. "After Wimbledon I was really down and my mind just stopped," she said. "I spoke to my coach a lot and my parents and they really helped me. My mind is much better now and that’s why I’ve been winning matches."
Kuznetsova and Bartoli have met twice before, notching up one win apiece. The Russian’s win came on clay, although ominously for Bartoli, she says her game is much better suited to the hard courts of New York.
Muller and Wang, seeded one and two for the US Open, sealed their places in the boys’ final with straight sets wins. Wang cruised past Luciano Vitullo 6-0, 6-4, while Muller ended Alex Bogdanovic’s promising run with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Briton. Muller and Wang have an impressive Grand Slam pedigree between them. Wang reached the Australian Open boys’ final in January, while Muller was runner up at the The Junior Championships, Wimbledon in July. Both will be hoping to go one better on Sunday.
Thomas Berdych and Stephane Bohli wrapped up the boys’ doubles title with a 6-4, 6-4 win over unseeded wild cards Brendan Evans and Brett Joelson. Galina Fokina and Svetlana Kuznetsova clinched the girls’ doubles trophy with a 7-5 6-3 win over Jelena Jankovic and Matea Mezak, topping a memorable day for Kuznetsova.
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