The American and Russian juniors dominated the 2015 Wimbledon Junior Championships.
The Russians dominated the girls event. Of the seven players, three made it to the quarters and the two who made it to the semifinals met in the finals. Unseeded Sofya Zhuk defeated fellow Russian Anna Blinkova in the finals in straight sets and gave the Live@Wimbledon Studios a poised and charming interview afterwards. It was refreshing to hear her passion for life and tennis.
Nine of the ten American girls won their first round matches. Unfortunately, Tornado Black and Michaela Gordon were the only girls who made it as far as the quarterfinals. Overall the American girls were 17-10.
| American Girls | 1st Round 0-1 | 2nd Round 1-1 | 3rd Round 2-1 | Quarters 3-1 | Semis 4-1 | Finals 5-1/6-0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francesca DiLorenzo | X | |||||
| Kayla Day | X | |||||
| Ravenna Kingsley | X | |||||
| Carolyn Dolehide | X | |||||
| Sofia Kenin | X | |||||
| Usue Maitane Arconada | X | |||||
| Claire Liu | X | |||||
| Tornado Black | X | |||||
| Ingrid Neel | X | |||||
| Michaela Gordon | X | |||||
| Total W-L | 9-1 | 6-3 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
The American boys owned the tournament. Combined, they had a 21-7 record.
All eight entrants were victorious in their first round matches. Taylor Fritz (#1 seed), Reilly Opelka, William Blumberg, and Tommy Paul (#7 seed) reached the quarters. Blumberg and Paul lost in the quarters and Opelka knocked out Fritz in the semis. The 6’10″Reilly Opelka defeated Mikael Ymer of Sweden, 7-6,6-4. It is great to see an American junior hoist the trophy at the end of the tournament; however, it may not bode well for the entertainment value of the sport when the victor had 15 aces in the championship match and there was only 1 service break in 2 sets.
On a positive note, it was encouraging to see anAmerican junior win back-to-back Grand Slam events. (Tommy Paul won the French in June). Time will tell whether the recent success of the boys translates to titles for American men in future Grand Slams events.
| American Boys | 1st Round 0-1 | 2nd Round 1-1 | 3rd Round 2-1 | Quarters 3-1 | Semis 4-1 | Finals 5-1/6-0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Fritz | X | |||||
| Ulses Blanch | X | |||||
| Reilly Opelka | X | |||||
| William Blumberg | X | |||||
| Emil Reinberg | X | |||||
| Nathan Ponwith | X | |||||
| Michael Mmoh | X | |||||
| Tommy Paul | X | |||||
| Total W-L | 8-0 | 5-3 | 4-1 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 1-0 |
Next stop, the U.S. Open! Will the American and Russian juniors have a repeat performance?