Forza! Urgesi and Bondioli seal Italian clean sweep in Cairo
There was an Italian clean sweep at J500 Cairo as Federica Urgesi and Federico Bondioli claimed the biggest junior singles titles of their careers with victory in the Egyptian capital city.
Aside from the Australian Open Junior Championships, J500 Cairo is the loftiest tournament on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors so far in 2023, offering prestige and a significant haul of ranking points to the winners.
There are seven J500 events during the 2023 campaign and the spoils of victory on this occasion belonged to Urgesi and Bondioli, who dispatched all before them to top the podium in their respective draws.
By staging this level of event (J500s were previously referred to as Grade As), Cairo made history as never before had North Africa hosted a tournament of this magnitude, and the surroundings certainly agreed with Urgesi.
During the previous week Urgesi had triumphed at J300 Cairo and took that form into the higher-grade event, dropping just one set on the way to the final where she defeated Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-3.
The 18-year-old, who won the Australian Open girls’ doubles alongside Slovakia’s Renata Jamrichova in January, has now won 11 successive junior matches. Her victories in Cairo have propelled her to a career-high No. 9 in the ITF World Tennis Tour girls’ rankings.
“I feel very happy winning my first J500 singles title,” Urgesi told itftennis.com. “It means a lot to me, as it does to my family and my coaches at the Italian Tennis Federation, considering that no goal can be attained without sacrifices by all these parties.
“Actually, two titles in a row in Cairo was unexpected, but at the same time I would like to say that, at the end of the day, I deserved to win both of them for the way I played. I hope this will be only the start line in my career.
“I could not be happier being No.9 in the ITF junior rankings, this has always been one of my major goals. Another goal for 2023 is to achieve a great result in the remaining three Grand Slams, reaching the quarter finals and onwards.
“I will certainly keep beautiful memories with me of Cairo, two perfect weeks in my career.”
Bondioli, meanwhile, also occupies a career-best ranking having risen to No. 19 in the boys’ standings after triumphing on the clay of Cairo, which was sealed with a comeback win against Serbia’s Branko Djuric, 6-7(6) 6-3 7-6(5).
“I had a great time in Cairo and I’m very happy with this victory," the 17-year-old told itftennis.com. “I’m satisfied with the path I’ve taken up to now, which has led me to this result.
“I’m happy for myself and for my coaches, Francesco and Stefano, who support me and work hard with me. I’m also happy for all the people who are helping me grow as a player and as a person.
“My goals for 2023 are participation in the Grand Slams and other junior tournaments, some ITF World Tennis Tour events and, if things go well, maybe some ATP Challengers. For now, though, I’m really happy.”
The second J500 event of the season will take place in Cricuma from 6-11 March.
Catch up on all of the results from the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors here.