 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2004 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2004 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2004 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2004 | | |
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| 03 Jul 2004 - Wimbledon - Eleanor Preston | |
| Kasiri flies the flag |
18-year-old Miles Kasiri became the first British boy since Buster Mottram lost to Bjorn Borg in 1972 to make the Wimbledon junior final yesterday when he completed a rain-delayed win over American Scoville Jenkins 76 76.
Kasiri and Jenkins resumed after their semi-final was halted by bad weather on Friday night with Kasiri a set up. They resumed in the early stages of the second set and played a succession of tense games before the British boy, who spends time training at Wimbledon when he is not travelling, clinched things on a tiebreaker.
“I was really happy that I actually got to finish the match because yesterday was a long first set and I really wanted to finish the match before the weather came but I didn’t get to. It’s not overwhelming being in the final though because I expected it before I even came here,” said the self-confident teenager. “If I don’t set my standards high then I’m not going to get very far. I didn’t have any problems sleeping last night because I don’t really get nervous before my matches. It was the first time I’d ever been delayed overnight like that but it was fine.”
Kasiri, who spent four years at Nick Bollettieri’s academy in Florida training alongside the likes of newly crowned ladies champion Maria Sharapova, will play Gael Monfils in today’s final. Monfils, of France, is the reigning junior Australian Open and French Open champion.
“On Friday I don’t feel like I did anything well against Jenkins, but I don’t think he really did either. It was a really horrible first set because it was so windy. Today it was also very windy but I was much more consistent from the back and at the end of the day I won the match because he made errors before I did.
I might be nervous against Monfils but obviously I’ll be extremely excited as well that I’m in the final and probably playing on a show court. I’ll be having so much fun that it’ll probably go away. I think it will inspire me. Against Monfils I’ll just have to stay with him and try and do the things that I do best – I’ll have to serve well, return well and try to be consistent.”
Serbia and Montenegro’s Ana Ivanovic sealed her place in the final with an epic 60 16 1210 win over Viktoria Azarenko of the Ukraine in a match delayed from Friday. Ivanovic had to save match-points in the contest which she admitted afterwards was the strangest three sets she had ever experienced.
“It feels really great to come through that and it’s the kind of match that gives you a lot of confidence because I had to fight really hard,” she said. “The second set was closer than it looked but the third set was just a battle of nerves and I got a little bit lucky because I stayed the coolest.”
Ivanovic, who has never been in a junior grand slam final before, takes on the Ukraine’s Katerina Bondarenko in today’s final.
“It’s wonderful to be in a final and to still be in the tournament at this stage. After my semifinal I feel so good because I know I can play better and if I do that then I think I have a good chance.”
Azarenka went some way to getting over her disappointment by reaching the girls’ doubles final with partner Volha Havartsova. The Belarussian No.3 seeds beat the No.1 seeds Michaella Krajicek and Shahar Peer 76 62. In the final they will face Marina Erakovic and Monica Niculescu, seeded four, who defeated the No.2 seeds, Nicole Vaidisova and Veronika Chvojkova 64 76.
No.2 seeds Brendan Evans and Scott Oudsema, the reigning Australian Open doubles champions booked their place in the boys’ doubles final defeating Rafael Arevalo and Coen Van Keulen 63 36 64 in front of a packed No.1 court. In the final they will face Robin Haase and Viktor Troiki who beat Guillermo Alcaide-Justell and Sergei Bubka in straight sets 63 63.
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