 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 11 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 11 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 11 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 11 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 11 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 11 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 11 Jun 2006 |
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| 11 Jun 2006 - Roland Garros, Paris - Eleanor Preston | |
| Klizan and Radwanska reign at Roland Garros |
Slovakian Martin Klizan and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska are the junior Roland Garros champions after emphatic final wins on Sunday.
16-year-old Klizan beat Philip Bester 6-3, 6-1 to earn his debut junior grand slam title. Radwanska’s 6-4, 6-1 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova earned the 17-year old from Krakow her second junior major title following her triumph at last year’s Wimbledon.
Klizan is the first ever Slovakian winner of junior Roland Garros and appeared overwhelmed with his achievement. After Bester’s final backhand skewed wide, he dropped his racket, fell on his knees and threw his arms over his head. In a habit he might have copied from his hero Rafael Nadal, he launched his sweatband high into the stands on Court Suzanne Lenglen, where a significant crowd had gathered to watch the junior final.
“I feel very good that I won. I didn't expect it,” said Klizan, who will rise up the ITF Junior Rankings. I am very happy. I thought that I would win two rounds and now I am champion. I felt very good form for my forehand and backhand, and I didn't lose my serve in the final. I was very good form.”
A string of long matches en route to the final may have taken its toll on Bester, who seemed to be hampered against Klizan after suffering an ill-timed bout of tendonitis in his knee a few days before the final. The knee was heavily strapped and he seemed slow to move to the ball.
“I felt the first thing was a good return because Bester sometimes plays serve and volley,” explained Klizan, through a translator. “He has a really strong serve. First was the return and then to punish him with his forehand. Before the match, yeah, but when I start to play, I wasn’t nervous.”
Radwanska’s win was equally one-sided and even she was surprised at how one-sided her victory over the 15-year-old Russian been.
“I'm so happy because I think it's my last tournament in juniors, so I think the best,” she said. “I'm so happy I won that tournament. Wimbledon was different because last year was my first tournament, so it was very big surprise for everyone in Poland and everywhere. This tournament was like very good also, but, you know, not as much of a surprise. There was more pressure.”
Afterwards, Radwanska paid tribute to Pavlyuchenkova, who is the Australian Open junior champion and was top seed in Paris. “She was running good and I couldn't finish the ball sometimes,” said Radwanska. “She's, I think, young, so she can play much better in the future.”
Klizan said he planned to celebrate his win at the local waterpark and was hoping to make the most of the warm weather Paris enjoyed on Sunday to mark his elevation to junior grand slam champion with a splash.
Radwanska, meanwhile, had less exotic tastes – “I think we will go to dinner and have lots of ice-cream,” she said, with a laugh.
For previous days reports from Roland Garros 2006, please click here.
For complete draws click from Junior Roland Garros 2006, please click here.
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