There was sadness, and there was joy. But mostly sadness.

Alexander Vasilev is a huge-serving 17-year-old from Sofia, Bulgaria, a player who routinely hits 130mph aces.

He’s having an outstanding season on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors and Wednesday he survived the match of the US Open Junior Championships so far on the boys' side.

It was a two-hour-and-eighteen-minute epic with Czechia's Jan Kumstat, which Vasilev eventually won 7-5 4-6 7-6(7). Vasilev is now in the quarter-finals where he will play American wild card Andrew Johnson, a 16-year-old playing his first Grand Slam.

But seven weeks ago, Vasilev was on the precipice of something really special. He had reached the semi-finals of the Junior Championships, Wimbledon, along with his friend and fellow countryman Ivan Ivanov.

The boys, raised in different parts of Bulgaria (Ivanov is from Varna, a seaside city) were on opposite sides of the bracket, so it was possible they would meet in an historic all-Bulgarian final.

But it was not to be. Ivanov claimed victory in the semi-final and went on to win the championship, while Vasilev lost to American Ronit Karki.

A few days later, Vasilev watched his friend win Wimbledon. He was happy for him, but naturally wondered why it was not him up there holding the trophy.

“It was tough to tell you the truth,” Vasiley recalled. “It was one of the best tournaments I ever played, but I wasn’t able to make the final. There was a lot of noise around us, maybe two Bulgarians in the final, and it didn’t happen.”

When Vasilev returned home, he knew he needed to take some lessons from the disappointment. He and his coaches tried to keep things in perspective and emphasise the positives, which they did.

“It taught me not to get ahead of yourself, because there was so much pressure on that match,” Vasilev said. “The mental part of the sport is so important, keeping yourself present.”

For his part, Ivanov said it may have been for the best that he did not have to play his friends for a Grand Slam title.

“It is amazing that Bulgaria have two juniors in Top 5, Top 10,” Ivanov said. “But it would have been a lot of pressure playing each other (at Wimbledon).”

Vasilev’s whole year is not defined by Wimbledon, of course; he has had fantastic results throughout 2025, including winning two J300 titles, reaching the final at J300 Roehampton and making the quarter-finals at the Roland Garros Junior Championships. 

“Of course you want to win everything, that’s human, but I’ve been very happy with my results,” Vasilev said.

Vasilev avenged a 2024 loss to Kumstat at Wimbledon with his victory on Wednesday, something his coaches were very impressed by.

“The goals are to go pro and be with the best tennis players in the world, so we remind him this is just a step in the journey,” said Mihail Petrov, a coach from the Bulgarian Tennis Federation. “He took a break, and got back to work, and remembered what the long-term goals are.”

Now down to the final eight, Vasilev and Ivanov are again on opposite sides of the draw, two victories each away from having the match they did not get to have in London.

“If I were to get to the final and win it, it would be the cherry on top of my season,” Vasilev said with a smile. “I’ve learned a lot this year, and I don’t want to look ahead. But of course, if I could get to the final that would be amazing.”

A full list of results from the 2025 US Open Junior Championships is available here