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| 01 Jun 2001 | |
| French Junior Open preview |
The time has arrived for the second Junior Grand Slam of the year. All of the top junior players are heading for the red clay of Roland Garros to attempt to follow in the footsteps of Hingis, Capriati, Mauresmo and Coria, all former junior champions in Paris.
The tournament attracts a very high quality field, which makes it a particularly tough job to predict who will be this year’s champions. However here are some players worth watching out for:
Boys
In 2000 a young American by the name of Andy Roddick lost in the quarterfinal to eventual champion Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA). This year Roddick has already caused a stir in the main draw by defeating Michael Chang to reach the third round. This just goes to show how quickly any of the following boys could progress from being talented juniors to real world-beaters.
Janko Tipsarevic (YUG) has to be one of the favourites for the title this year. He is currently No. 1 in the rankings and as Australian Junior Open champion has proved that he can perform on the big occasions.
Alejandro Falla (COL) comes into the tournament on a high having just won the Italian Junior Open. Even though he lists his favourite surface as hard courts, he has proved that he can certainly perform on clay.
Gilles Muller, the tall left-hander from Luxembourg, is another who likes the red stuff. He won the Group A Banana Bowl in Brazil on clay and was runner up to Falla last week in Italy. At No. 2 in the rankings he also has the added incentive of knowing that a win could take him to the top spot.
The French have three boys in the Top 50 rankings: Clement Morel (No.16), Benjamin Balleret (No.36) and Marc Auradou (No.38), all of whom will be hoping to use the home advantage to inherit the title from fellow countryman Mathieu. Another French player, Richard Gasquet, a talented 14-year-old, has also been in fine form, having won the last two ITF tournaments he played in France.
As with the senior event, the junior event at Roland Garros has been dominated in recent years by Spanish speaking nations. Guillermo Coria from Argentina won in 1999, and five of the previous six titles were also won by Spanish speakers.
This year, along with Alejandro Falla (COL), South American hopes will be resting on Brian Dabul (ARG), who has been performing consistently well on clay, and won his first ITF title at Santa Croce, Italy in May. The Spanish will be watching out for Carlos Cuadrado who, with the second highest ATP ranking in the boys’ draw, could be a real threat.
Girls
All eyes will be on Marion Bartoli, the 16-year-old French girl who plays double handed on both sides. Bartoli will already be accustomed to Roland Garros this year, having been awarded a wild card into the main draw, where she put up a good fight against Catalina Castano of Colombia. In the junior event, and on home soil, Bartoli will be a contender if she can handle the pressure.
Aniko Kapros will be looking to add the French title to the Australian Open title she won in 2000. Having finished last year at No.2 in the rankings, she has since climbed to No. 133 on the senior WTA rankings.
The current No. 1 and 2 in the rankings, Jelena Jankovic (YUG) and Kaia Kanepi (EST), are both in with a good chance of picking up the title. Kanepi should be feeling particularly confident after winning last week’s Italian Junior Open in Milan.
Surprisingly an American girl has not won the French title since Jennifer Capriati back in 1989. This year could see a change in fortunes for the USA thanks to two talented youngsters Ashley Harkleroad and Bethanie Mattek.
Dinara Safina, 15-year-old sister of Marat Safin, could add the Junior Roland Garros title to her brother’s US Open title. Safina is in great form on clay having won three back-to-back ITF Junior tournaments in Italy, and knows she can perform well in Paris, having reached the doubles final last year.
So, with all this talent and lots more on show, it should be an exciting week in Paris. Visit the site daily for reports on all the action.
Click here to check out the past champions at Roland Garros
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