Junior stars Blockx and Korneeva looking for back-to-back Slam titles
The draw for the Roland Garros junior championships took place on Saturday in Paris and Alexander Blockx and Alina Korneeva both now know what lies ahead if they want to repeat their Melbourne triumphs.
The Belgian seems to be on a collision course with Mexico’s Rodrigo Pacheco who has taken the No.1 spot in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings following his title at J500 Milan. Blockx will start his quest against American Kyle Kang, while Pacheco will debut against another American player, Darwin Blanch.
Iliyan Radulov figures in Blockx’s quarter of the draw and the Bulgarian, who recently won his first title on the professional circuit at M15 Pazardzhik, will undoubtedly be one to watch. He also recently joined the Grand Slam Player Development Programme. In Pacheco’s quarter of the draw, we find another big outsider in Serbian Branko Djuric.
Djuric’s illustrious compatriot, Novak Djokovic, the man with 22 Grand Slam titles, was quick to highlight the importance of these Junior Grand Slams when asked about his own experience back in the day.
“It's important to write about them as well and to give them even more I guess attention and incentive to keep pushing and working their way to professional tennis," said Djokovic. "We all have played junior circuits to some extent. I qualified for Roland Garros junior event in 2003, and I lost in the third round to Gimeno Traver, who is the coach of Bautista Agut right now (smiling).
"[Junior Grand Slams] are very important events not just for results but recognition and getting your name out there" - Djokovic
"For juniors, Grand Slams are the most important tournaments that you are aiming for, because that's where you have an opportunity to present yourself to eventually someone that can sponsor you or can manage you.
"They are very important events not just for results but recognition and getting your name out there on the stage where the biggest amount of managers and sports agencies come together so you're hoping that someone can approach you and offer something to help which is so needed for a lot of the junior players to make their life a bit easier towards professional tennis.”
On the girls’ side, Alina Korneeva landed on the bottom side of the draw and in the same quarter as the No. 2 seed Clervie Ngounoue. The Australian Open girls' champion will face German Ella Seidel in the first round, while the American will play against French wild card Lucie Pawlak. On the top of that draw, Japan’s Sara Saito, the No.1 seed, will start her Roland-Garros with a potentially tricky match against French wild card and hope, Daphnée Mpetshi Perricard. Saito has climbed to No. 2 in the ITF World Tennis Tour girls’ rankings this week.
In Saito’s quarter, people should keep an eye on the American Kaitlin Quevedo, who arrives in Paris on a high after clinching her biggest title so far at J500 Milan on Sunday. Lucciana Perez Alarcon (No. 6) is also in that side of the draw.
“Having the experience and playing [Junior] Grand Slams helped because I felt really overwhelmed during my first years as a junior" - Swiatek
World No.1 Iga Swiatek, who has already three Grand Slam titles to her name and was a Junior Grand Slam champion in doubles at Roland-Garros in 2018 and in singles at Wimbledon in 2018, still views those junior years as crucial formative blocks in her career.
“For sure, having the experience and playing Grand Slams helped because I felt really overwhelmed during my first years as a junior when I came here and at Wimbledon," she said. "It was nice as I had a chance to see what the vibe there is on Grand Slams and how it all works. For me, it was always about being solid. I wasn't really focused on that.
"When I won junior Wimbledon, I already felt like I got all the experience that I needed, and I started playing pro, so I wasn't really focused on getting the ranking. It was more about the experience.”
Now it’s up to the the 2023 crop to show what they've got.