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Amelie Mauresmo and Caroline Wozniacki - Wimbdon Champions 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jul 2006
Thiemo De Bakker (NED)
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jul 2006
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jul 2006
Thiemo De Bakker (NED) - Wimbedon Champion 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jul 2006
Caroline Woznicki (DEN) - Wimbledon Champion 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jul 2006
De Bakker and Gawron - Wimbledon finalists 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jul 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jul 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jul 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 09 Jul 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 09 Jul 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 09 Jul 2006
Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 09 Jul 2006
09 Jul 2006 - Wimbledon - Eleanor Preston
Wozniacki and De Bakker all smiles at Wimbledon
Caroline Wozniacki’s bright smile lit up Wimbledon on Saturday after the 15-year-old Dane completed a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 final victory over Magdalena Rybarikova to win her first junior grand slam title and become the first Danish girl to win Junior Wimbledon.

The Netherlands Thiemo DeBakker also picked a debut junior grand slam title and made history as the first Dutch boy to be junior Wimbledon champion. De Bakker beat Polish qualifier Marcin Gawron 6-2, 7-6 in the boys’ final.

“It feels so good. For me it’s amazing to be able to call myself the champion of Wimbledon,” said Wozniacki. “I still can’t believe it really. I think I will say it to myself over and over again and it still wouldn’t sink into my head. Wimbledon is so great. It’s such a wonderful tournament and to be here and winning the juniors is fantastic.”

After dropping the first set against the talented Slovakian, Wozniacki had to dig deep, drawing on the reserves of experience she gleaned from her painful loss to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in January’s Australian Open final. “I don’t think I would have won today if Australia hadn’t happened. Going in to the match this time I knew what I was getting into and I knew what to do. It’s amazing to be a grand slam winner. After Australia I was a bit disappointed because I knew I had had chances to win. This time I took my chances and now it feels so good.”

After a poor start against Rybarikova, Wozniacki upped the aggression to good effect, serving with authority and pressuring her opponent into errors. “She doesn’t play like anyone else because she doesn’t give you any rhythm at all and it took me a while to get used to that in the beginning,” explained Wozniacki. “At the end of the first set I told myself to step in and start hitting the ball. She has a huge serve but I started to return better and that made a big difference too.”

17-year-old DeBakker showed surprisingly few nerves despite playing in his first junior grand slam final, shrugging off the pressure of being top seed to end Gawron’s remarkable winning streak. The Pole had not set foot on grass before his first practice session at the Bank of England sports club in Roehampton, yet compiled a string of seven wins in qualifying and en route to the final.

Kellen Damico and Nathaniel Schnugg of the USA earned their debut grand slam doubles title with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Slovakians Martin Klizan and Andrei Martin. Damico and Schnugg’s win means that American pairs have won the Wimbledon boys’ doubles titles for three years in succession. Jesse Levine and Michael Shabaz took the honours last year, while Brendan Evans and Scott Oudsema were champions in 2004.

Sunday’s girls’ doubles final was won by the Russian duo of Alisa Kleybanova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated Kristina Antoniychuk of the Ukraine and Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru 6-1, 6-2. The Russians’ victory marked a third successive grand slam junior doubles title for Pavlyuchenkova, who won the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles with Canada’s Sharon Fichman.

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