 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 30 Jun 2007 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 30 Jun 2007 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 30 Jun 2007 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 30 Jun 2007 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 30 Jun 2007 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 30 Jun 2007 |
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| 30 Jun 2007 - Wimbledon - Eleanor Preston | |
| Juniors play waiting game as rain ruins day one |
Day one of the junior Wimbledon Championships got off to a soggy start after rain washed out all girls’ and boys’ matches at the All England Club. The persistent showers over south west London meant a frustrating day of waiting around for players originally scheduled to play on Saturday.
The roster included the much-anticipated first round meeting between 2006 ITF Junior World Champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia and Michelle Larcher De Brito of Portugal, who was a quarter-finalist at the junior French Open three weeks’ ago. Neither girl has got to grips with grass-court tennis and though Pavlyuchenkova will have gained experience from playing in the first round of the main draw at Wimbledon (where she received a wildcard), her 6-0, 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Daniela Hantuchova will have done little for her confidence.
French Open semi-finalist Ksenia Milevskaya of Belarus saw her first round match postponed until the re-start of the Championships on Monday, when she will take on Zhou Yi-Maio of China. Second seed Anastasia Pivovarova of Russia is also likely to feature on the schedule as the Wimbledon organisers try to catch up and stay one step ahead of the inclement summer weather. French Open junior finalist Mariana Duque-Marino of Columbia might be one to watch this week, while British interest will centre around ninth seed Naomi Cavaday, who held two match-points on five-time grand slam champion Martina Hingis in the first round of the women’s event and will have much expected of her in the juniors.
Belarussian junior French Open winner Vladimir Ignatic is top seed in the boys’ competition and plays the Netherlands’ Thomas Schoorel in the first round. Matteo Trevisan, who also enjoyed plenty of success in Paris, is the tournament’s second seed and Ignatic’s nominal rival for the Wimbledon title won by Thiemo DeBakker last year. Australians Greg Jones, Stephen Donald and John-Patrick Smith will all begin the tournament with high hopes; while Kellen Damico of the USA and Jonathan Eysseric must also be viewed as potential title contenders. Another American, Donald Young, who is making a welcome return to the juniors, could also be one to watch.
With weather forecasters suggesting more rain for early in the week, whoever wins this year’s Wimbledon junior titles will need plenty of patience.
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