Mochizuki back at Wimbledon in search of maiden Grand Slam match-win
There are stories to unpack from Wimbledon qualifying including former junior world No. 1 Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan.
The 22-year-old will next week have the chance to claim his first main draw match-win at a Grand Slam after defeating Switzerland's Dominic Stricker in the third of three rounds of qualifying at Roehampton.
It would be fitting for Mochizuki to achieve the feat at SW19 after winning the Wimbledon boys' title in 2019, in the process becoming the first Japanese player to win a Junior Grand Slam.
Later the same year, Kawasaki-born Mochizuki helped his nation claim the Davis Cup Juniors title after they beat hosts USA in the final in Orlando. Perhaps we might see similarly wild celebrations at Wimbledon next week!
Another former world champion at 16-and-under level, Iva Jovic of the United States, will make her Wimbledon main draw debut after also making it through qualifying.
Jovic, who is still only 17, was a member of the USA team that clinched the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors title in 2022 and starred in a behind-the-scenes video from the tournament.
The teenager has risen to No. 89 in the WTA Rankings since and already this year has won W100 Charlottesville on the ITF World Tennis Tour before sealing her maiden WTA triumph at Ilkley earlier this month.
Unlike Mochizuki, Jovic has already recorded her maiden main draw match-win at a Grand Slam having reached the second round at the 2024 US Open and this season’s Australian Open and Roland Garros.
Czechia’s Linda Fruhvirtova, meanwhile, will bid for her maiden main draw match-win at Wimbledon after also successfully negotiating qualifying, with her decisive victory coming against Japan’s Eni Shibahara.
World No. 150 Fruhvirtova is a former junior world No. 2 and a player who has shown considerable promise for some time, winning the 2019 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals alongside her sister Brenda and Nikola Bartunkova.
Fruhvirtova enjoyed a stunning run to the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2023, but she has failed to win a main draw match at a Grand Slam since. The 20-year-old will be desperate to amend that particular statistic at SW19.