Latak becomes from American boy since Fritz to clam US Open title
If we were to rewind a couple of weeks, it would be safe to assume that Marcel Latak would not have envisaged being crowned US Open boys’ champion. That said, stories can quite often veer from the script.
Latak had never previously won a Junior Grand Slam match. However, following a fairytale run in New York, he is now the proud owner of a Grand Slam trophy following victory over Brazil’s Luis Guto Miguel in the boys’ singles final.
Guto Miguel is a fine player and he remains the top-ranked boy on the planet. He entered the clash with a Junior Grand Slam title already to his name having triumphed at Roland Garros in June so, in no uncertain terms, this was a gigantic victory for Latak.
The 17-year-old recovered from set down to prevail 3-6 7-5 7-6(13) from what proved a topsy-turvy, edge-of-the-seat encounter – Latak’s fourth victory against a Top 10 opponent at the 2026 US Open Junior Championships.
In short, a Junior Grand Slam title is a seismic moment in any aspiring player’s career and, for Latak, it is a victory which propels the teenager to a career-high No. 8 in the World Tennis Tour boys’ rankings.
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“I’m stoked about how it went today and I just told myself to go for it,” said Latak, who lost the boys' doubles final alongside Tanishk Konduri to France's Aaron Gabet and Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain.
“I was up for most of the tiebreaker in the third set and I dropped match points. But, honestly, that’s nothing new, I have dropped so many this tournament before closing out.
“But I was also down in the tiebreak and saved championship points also, so I am really pleased that I just went for it. Luis is an incredible player, and he is No. 1 in the world for reason.
“It definitely took a lot of thinking about in the second set to figure out what he likes, what he doesn’t like and what I was doing better than him. It was a real mental battle, really strategic.”
Latak’s victory means the last two Junior Grand Slam boys’ titles have been won by Americans after Jordan Lee conquered all before him at Wimbledon in July. He is, however, the first American boy to win a US Open singles title since Taylor Fritz in 2015.
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The teenager is coached by Christian Groh, who has previously trained the likes of Fritz, Tommy Haas and Brandon Nakashima – so Latak is following in some highly illustrious footsteps.
“He [Groh] definitely expects a lot from me, as he should,” added Latak.
“With the goals that I have and with what I want to achieve, I need to step it up. He definitely put it in that if there is a time to go it for, play my game, it was here and now.
“He told me to step it up a little bit a couple of months ago and I definitely saw improvements after he told me to step it up – it really pushed me.”
Guto Miguel was magnanimous in defeat, disappointed about the defeat but acknowledging fully that while a second Junior Grand Slam title would have been preferable, bigger battles lie ahead.
“It is sad,” said Guto Miguel. “But, at the same time, I know that I was so close to winning my second Junior Grand Slam title. I know that I am in the right way.
“This is my last junior tournament, so the real journey starts now. We did not finish the way we wanted to, but it is still positive to get the confidence and feel we are going in the right direction.
“I want to thank everyone that has been a part of my junior career. Now the real journey starts.”
A full list of results from the 2026 US Open Junior Championships can be found here