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| 07 Sep 2003 | |
| Tsonga and Co come through endurance test |
It was another busy day for the juniors at the US Open, where for the second consecutive day winners were forced to play two matches on one day as schedulers raced to catch up after rain delayed the tournament earlier in the week.
The extraordinary circumstances of this year’s event have made it something of an endurance test for everyone, not least the four finalists. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) will play each other in Sunday’s boys’ final while Wimbledon champion Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) and Holland’s newly No.1 ranked Michaela Krajicek face off for the girl’s title. All four players have now won five matches in three days.
Flipkens and Krajicek will also be playing for the World No.1 ranking, which is currently in Krajicek’s hands. Flipkens, who beat Katerina Bondarenko (UKR) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in the semis, will overtake her by beating her in the final. “She is the World No.1 right now so she has all the pressure,” said Flipkens. “I don’t think I have anything to lose. It’s for certain that whoever wins the match will end the year as World No.1 but I don’t think that will put anything extra on the match because I can only do my best. I can’t do any more than that.”
Flipkens will be looking for revenge after Krajicek beat her in the final of the Canadian Open last week. “That went to a third set so I know how tough it’s going to be,” said Krajicek, who knocked out Tatiana Golovin 6-1, 6-4 to earn her final spot.
Flipkens, who picked up her first junior Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July, believes that her experience may help her gain an advantage over 14-year-old Krajicek. “The first time I was in a final I was like ‘whoa, what is going on here,’” said Flipkens. “It wasn’t just the crowd, it was the whole occasion. I know what to expect this time.”
Baghadatis will also know what to expect. The Cypriot, who beat Scoville Jenkins (USA) in the quarters and then Dudi Sela 6-2, 6-1 in the semis, was a runner-up here last year.
Baghdatis will be anxious to erase the memory of last year’s final, when he came within a whisker of the title against Richard Gasquet before nerves got the better of him.
For Tsonga his efforts in getting to the final, which included a 6-4, 6-4 win over Wimbledon champion Florin Mergea in the semi-finals, marked a huge breakthrough. “I have made the semi-finals of my last few tournaments but never the final, so I am so excited. Baghdatis will be tough but I have to play my game and not think about him. I am very confident.”
Photos by Susan Mullane
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