 Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 23 May 2005 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 23 May 2005 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 23 May 2005 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 23 May 2005 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 23 May 2005 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 23 May 2005 |
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| 23 May 2005 - Helen McFetridge | |
| Unseeded winner in Milan |
The 2005 Italian Open ended in the same way as it had begun – with a shock result in the boys’ singles. From the defeat of Donald Young on the first day, this has been a tournament full of surprises, so perhaps it is fitting that an unseeded Croat who lists his favourite surface as grass should have emerged triumphant in one of the biggest clay court events of the junior circuit.
World ranked 53 at the beginning of the week, few would have put Petar Jelenic among the pre-tournament favourites. His only previous ITF Junior Circuit victory had come in the Grade 3 Slovenian Open last year, and his semi-final showing in Santa Croce the week before Milan had been his best result of 2005. Even as the tournament got underway, he progressed through relatively unnoticed as he made his way quietly into the semi-finals without dropping a set but without playing anyone in the world’s top 50. It was only by sweeping aside Andreas Haider Maurer of Austria in the semi-finals that Jelenic made people stand up and take notice, the Croat dropping just five games to the fifth seed. This after Haider Mauer had upset second seed and tournament favourite Leonardo Mayer (ARG) in the quarter-finals, only the third time that Mayer has lost before the final in nine tournaments played this year.
In the top half of the draw, seventh seed Neils Desein (BEL) took advantage of world number one Young’s first-round defeat to come through relatively unopposed in the top quarter. Desein cruised through to the semi-finals for the loss of just 14 games in four matches, there to meet the equally impressive Ryan Sweeting (BAH), who had demolished sixth seed Carsten Ball (USA) 6-1 6-1 in the quarters. Fifteenth seed Sweeting put up a good fight but the Belgian, twice a winner on clay this year, was ultimately too strong, coming through 5-7 6-3 6-4.
There was nothing to choose between the two in the final, with Desein edging the first set on the tiebreak but Jelenic hitting back to take the second 6-4. The third set could not have been closer, with Jelenic eventually holding his nerve to take it 7-5 to win his second title and give himself an excellent confidence boost going into the French Open this week, where he will be forced to qualify.
If the boys’ event had a surprise victor, the girls’ title went to top seed Dominika Cibulkova (SVK), her first ever ITF Junior Circuit title. Cibulkova has attained a top ten ranking based on consistently good results in top grade events, but she will be relieved to have finally won a title after being four times a losing finalist. She did it the hard way, dropping sets in four of her five matches en route to the final, including the first set of her semi-final against seventh seed Bibiane Schoofs (NED). Schoofs had earlier defeated third seed Caroline Woznaicki (DEN) in straight sets, and must have fancied her chances of another upset when she eased to the first set 6-2 against Cibulkova, but the top seed pulled herself together to win the next two 6-1 6-3.
In the final, Cibulkova faced Romanian eleventh seed Raluca Olaru, who had broken Italian hearts by knocking out Roxana Vaideanu in the third round, Sara Errani in the quarter-finals and wild card Corinna Dentoni in the semis. Dentoni had a great tournament, defeating the fifteenth and fourth seeds in straight sets on her way to the semis, but she couldn’t make it a hat-trick of seeded scalps as Olaru claimed a narrow victory, 6-4 7-5.
Despite her struggles earlier in the tournament, Cibulkova went into the final with the confidence which comes from knowing that she had yet to drop a set to her Romanian opponent in two previous encounters. Olaru could do nothing to reverse the trend, as the top seed swept to victory 6-2 6-4. Both girls will take confidence gained from this tournament with them to Roland Garros, where Cibulkova will be the sixth seed.
Both doubles events were Russian affairs, with Ekaterina Makarova and Eugenia Rodina winning the girls’ event with victory over Sharon Fichman (CAN) and Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), and Eugeny Kirillov combining with Moldovan Denis Molcianov to defeat the Americans Donald Young and Alex Clayton in the boys’ final.
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