Xu and Rublev crowned champions in Chengdu
The first-ever men’s and women’s champions of the ITF Junior Masters were decided on Sunday in an epic day of action.
Andrey Rublev of Russia was crowned as the first Junior Masters champion when he came back from a set down to defeat American Taylor Fritz 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4. A tough first set swung one way then the other, but the American’s powerful serve proved too strong in the tiebreak and he took a one-set lead.
Rublev, the top seed at this year’s Masters, would not be denied victory and fought back during the second set. The Russian raced into a 4-1 lead and, although Fritz fought back, the Russian’s quality levelled the match.
The final set was tense. Both players were serving well and held as the set moved to 3-3. Then came the decisive moment; Rublev broke the American’s serve to move 4-3 ahead before consolidating the break with a hold. Fritz forced the Russian to serve the match out, and he duly delivered before pointing to the sky and thanking God, very fitting given that his victory came on Easter Sunday.
After the match, Rublev was all smiles. “I’m really happy,” he said. “It’s the first Masters, it’s always great to be first, so I’m really happy.”
The Russian announced during his press conference that this would be his last tournament on the Junior circuit, and that he will use the wild cards he wins here to help kick-start his professional career.
Xu Shilin is the women’s champion after she defeated Slovakian Kristina Schmiedlova 6-4 6-2 in the final. There was a huge cheer around Centre Court as Xu clinched match point, as the host nation showed its adoration for its brightest new talent.
The first set was a close one but with Schmiedlova trailing 4-5 and serving, Xu earned a set point. The pressure got the Slovakian and she double faulted to hand the first set to her opponent.
After winning that set, there was no stopping the Chinese player. She stormed through the second set, breaking serve twice to lead 5-2 and, with Schmiedlova serving again, Xu brought up two match points. Schmiedlova saved the first with an ace but Xu converted the second to win 64 62 and send the Chinese fans into raptures.
Xu has had great success playing in China in the last two years, she also won the gold medal in singles at last year’s Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, and she said that she loves the support she receives in her home nation. “I like the crowd behind me,” she said. “I like having the crowd supporting me.”
Duck Hee Lee and Iryna Shymanovich claimed third place finishes after both players recorded straight-set victories on the final day. Korean Lee defeated No. 2 seed Orlando Luz 6-3 7-5 and Shymanovich, the second seed from Belarus, defeated Jil Teichmann, who had had to play her semifinal on Sunday morning after a rain delay, 6-2 6-2.
5th place went to Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov of Spain in the women’s draw and Korea Republic’s Chung Yunseong in the men’s. Bolsova Zadoinov defeated Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who had had to finish her second round match in the morning, 6-1 7-6(1). Chung played his third consecutive three-set match when he defeated American Michael Mmoh 5-7 7-5 7-5. That match lasted two hours forty minutes, which meant that in three days he played seven hours and forty-six minutes over three matches in the space of three days.
In the 7-8th place play-offs, there were wins for Elena Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Brazilian Marcelo Zormann. Ruse was one set up in her match against Marketa Vondrousova when the young Czech was forced to retire with a shoulder injury. Zormann won his first match of the tournament when he defeated Jaume Munar from Spain 6-4 6-3.
All of the players competing in the Junior Masters will receive travel grants to help with their careers, ranging from $15,000 for the winners down to $7,000 for the players who finished 8th.