 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jun 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jun 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jun 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jun 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jun 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jun 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jun 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 08 Jun 2008 |
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| 08 Jun 2008 - Roland Garros, Paris - Eleanor Preston |  Related Audio |
| Yang and Halep make history in Paris |
 An interview with Junior Roland Garros finalist Elena Bogdan (MP3 format)
An interview with Junior Roland Garros champion Simona Halep (MP3 format)
An interview with Junior Roland Garros finalist Jerzy Janowicz (MP3 format)
An interview with Junior Roland Garros champion Tsung-Hua Yang (MP3 format)
 
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Chinese Taipei’s Tsung-Hua Yang became Chinese Taipei’s first ever Junior Roland Garros winner on Sunday with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz. Simona Halep won the first all-Romanian girls’ Junior Grand Slam final with a 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 win over Elena Bogdan.
“This is big. Very big,” said 17-year-old Yang. “Before in my country nobody ever won this tournament so I’m very happy. We had second round, third round before but this is the first one for us. That makes me very happy. All my friends and family have been watching on livescores on the internet back home. I think they’ll be very happy too. I haven’t checked my phone messages yet but I think there will be lots.”
After winning the first set, courtesy of some smart variation from the baseline, Yang seemed to lose his nerve and he went 0-5 down in the second set in the face of some rampantly powerful shotmaking from Janowicz. Yang, though, dug deep and slowly hit his way out of trouble. He forced a tiebreaker and continued with patient, thoughtful tennis until Janowicz eventually cracked. “I didn’t think I could win this match because he was a pretty tall guy and very strong, with good baseline shots and good off the ground” said Yang. “I was a little bit lucky and then in the second set I was 0-5 down and I just did not think too much and just played the points one-by-one.”
Janowicz, who was also runner-up to Lithuania’s Ricardas Barankis at last year’s Junior US Open, was quick to praise the champion after the match. “My opponent played very well. In the second set I didn’t concentrate and I thought I had won that set and my opponent didn’t make any mistakes,” said the 17-year-old from Lodz, Poland. “He’s very good. I am very happy that I made the final. It’s a good performance for me. I am very happy and maybe at Wimbledon I can be the winner. We will see. It’s all about getting experience for the pros.”
Halep was relieved to have picked up her first Junior Grand Slam title with a hard-fought victory over her good friend and ITF/Grand Slam Touring Team member Bogdan. “It's a big result for me. I played good all the matches,” said Halep. “Today I had very, very big emotions because it was the final, big match for me. But I won. I don't know how, but I won. ”
Halep is the second Romanian girl to win the girls’ title at Roland Garros following Marina Simionescu’s 1974 victory. Overall, three Romanians have now triumphed in the Juniors in Paris, including 1992 boys’ champion Andre Pavel. “It was important for me to win like him because Andre Pavel is my idol. I want to be like him in the future. He's such a good, good player,” said Halep.
Halep’s win capped a glorious clay-court season for the 16-year-old, who won the Grade A tournament in Milan. After winning the first set in Sunday’s final, she held two match-points at 5-4 in the second set before anxiety took hold as the trophy drew near. She recovered well after losing the tiebreaker, though, regrouping to take an early break of serve which she did not relinquish. “The third set I was very, I don't know, very tired. My mind was very down,” she said. “But I don't know, I did want to win this match, because it's my favourite tournament, my favourite place. I love Paris. It was a great tournament for me.”
Bogdan was pleased with her tournament despite losing to Halep and made a point of praising the work of the ITF/Grand Slam Touring Team and the work that the organisation does in helping develop young players like her. “I want to thank them for always supporting me, we are like a team and like a family,” she said. “Everything is great and it’s always so nice. I was very tired in the third set because I’ve had some long matches and she was more focused than me but it was a good tournament for me.”
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