Mayot prevails from all-French final to seal Aus Open boys' crown

France’s Harold Mayot is the newly-crowned Australian Open boys’ champion after dispatching fellow countryman Arthur Cazaux in clinical style on Rod Laver Arena.

In the first all-French junior boys’ final at a major since the 2004 Australian Open, top seed Mayot overwhelmed his good friend Cazaux 6-4 6-1 in just one hour and seven minutes to claim a maiden Junior Grand Slam title.

“Yeah, it was tough to play against him today but it was great to play against a friend,” said Mayot, who was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2019. “I hope to play against him for the biggest trophies.”

Such was Mayot’s dominance, he did not face a break point in the entire match, winning 78 per cent of his first serve points and charging forward 17 times to net, winning 12 of those points. He hit 16 winners in the match overall, becoming the first French junior boy to capture a major since Geoffrey Blancaneaux at Roland Garros in 2016.

Cazaux and Mayot played doubles here together and have known one another since they were just eight years old.

“It's always tough to play against own teammate,” said Cazaux. “But, yes, he just was too good today on this court, he was more solid than me.”

Cazaux will play in the qualifying draw of the ATP event later this month in Marseille, while Mayot, who turns 18 on Tuesday, already has a ATP ranking of No.527 in the world, having made the quarter-finals at the Bendigo Challenger before the Australian Open.

He plans to play Roland Garros juniors, where he will be one of the favourites. He trains at the nearby national centre as part of the French Federation team there.

“He’s a very big worker, a very big fighter,” said Sebastien Poublet, Mayot’s physical trainer. “He loves tennis. He only speaks about tennis – all of the day. He’s looking to work harder every day. He’s watching tennis on his phone, on TV. He has the passion for it. That’s Harold.”

Mayot, coached by Thierry Tulasne, will oscillate between the junior and pro ranks. But his first major title is not lost on him, both he and his team getting emotional when discussing the hard work that went into his championship run.

“Yes, it means a lot to me,” he said. “We work very hard since so many years, since I'm young. It's very hard work and here we are. It's just the beginning and I hope to win a lot of title this year.”