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Struggling to find reliable and up to date information concerning the Australian Open juniors events? Take a look at our comprehensive breakdown here.
Contents
Australian Open Juniors 2023 – General Overview
Did you know that there are also several junior events being played at the Australian Open in 2023? That’s right – the Australian Open juniors tournaments are pretty much the same level as they are for the seniors. On the ITF Tour, these tournaments are classified as Grand Slams, and they carry great weight in terms of prestige and rankings. As for the general details of these tournaments, let’s cover these before we run through the specifics.
The singles qualifying tournaments will begin on January 18th, and this holds true for the boys and girls events. Main draw matches commence on January 23rd for these tournaments, with the doubles events starting just a day or two later – schedule depending. The draw size is 32 for the singles qualifying, moving to 64 for the singles main draw. As for the doubles, the draw size is 32. Note that this means there are 32 pairs, not 32 individual players.
Of course, if you are interested in seeing the main prospects of the future in tennis, these tournaments are worth watching.
Details on the Australian Open Juniors tournaments for 2023
Due to the general overview shared above, you should have an idea of what tournaments are being held for the juniors. But to ensure that you are aware of the main information pertaining to each, we’d like to discuss each event in detail now.
Boy’s Singles
The boy’s singles is obviously a very exciting event to watch if you get a chance. This is the tournament where guys like Nick Kyrgios have been crowned champion in the past. So really, it’s a gateway for the next generation of superstars to break through. As for this year’s event, a total of 64 boys will compete in the main singles draw. This means that the boys must win six matches to win the tournament.
Each match is played as the best of three sets with a full third to decide the winner, including a match tie-break at 6-6.
Day 8 – the final
On day 8 the Boys’ Junior Singles held the match for the title. As we expected it turned out to be a dramatic affair with both players missing matchpoints before eventually the number 3 seed Blockx edged the unseeded American and Doubles champion Tien in a dramatic third set tiebreak that finished 11:9.
It all looked plain sailing for the favourite Blockx in set 1 when he dropped a single game. However, Tien was equally impressive in set and 6-2 win for the American meant that a decisive set will be needed to decide the champion.
Early breaks were exchanged in the third but then both players were holding serve well. Tien had chances to win even before the tiebreak but he missed 2 matchpoints. He missed another in the very dramatic tiebreak, with Blockx missing 3 of his own before eventually able to secure the win and with this the title.
Girl’s Singles
As is the case in junior tennis, the girl’s singles format is an exact replica of the boy’s. The girls also play matches following a best-of-three set format. Should a match go to a deciding set, it is played in full. Of course, if the final set goes to 6-6, the players will play a match tie-break to determine the winner. And concerning the draw size, 64 girls will be competing in the singles tournament this year.
Day 8 – the final
The Girls’ Junior Singles 2023 Australian Open final was an all-Russian affair. The number 7 seed Andreeva faced the number 9 seed Korneeva and as expected the two close friends produced tight and very dramatic 3-set thriller.
There was lots of heavy hitting and baseline winners from both, but Korneeva ended up having a decisive edge as she won 67% of the long rallies (9 shots or more).
It was Andreeva that edged set 1 tiebreak to go ahead, but a single break of serve in the second set saw Korneeva equaling things with 6-4 success. In the decisive set both players missed breakpoints that would have put them within a game of the title. Eventually Andreeva blinked first and allowed a crucial late break that saw Korneeva crowned the champion with 7-5 success.
Both Russians now enter the top 5 of the Girls’ Junior rankings and they look poised to be dominating the Girls tour this year.
Doubles Events
We’ve combined this into just one section as there are no differences between the boy’s and girl’s doubles events. However, the draw size for these doubles tournaments is smaller than it is for singles. Just 32 pairs compete in the doubles events, meaning they must win five matches in a row to win the tournament. But a main difference between singles and doubles here is that the third set is played as a championship tie-break.
This is a tie-break where the team must win 10 points instead of 7 to win the match. So as you can imagine, when the match goes to this deciding tie-break, the tension is pretty high for these juniors. This paves the way for plenty of drama and thrilling moments for those who choose to watch the matches.
Daily review – Day 6
On the final day of the Boys’ Junior Doubles even a major upset transpired. The world number 1 pair Bloeckx/Fonseca were heavily backed, including by us, to lift the trophy. However, the all-American unseeded duo Tien/Williams haven’t read that script and they stunned the favourites after offering immaculate display from start to finish. The Americans won both sets 6-4 and they never allowed their own serves to be broken, which was crucial in the end. Tien now dreams of a double as he also reached the Singles final on the same day.
The Girls’ Juni0rs Doubles final also produced an upset with long tiebreak needed to decide the champions. The unseeded duo Jamrichova/Urgesi stunned the number 4 seed Kinoshita/Saito to lift the title. The Japanese pair lost the opening set after a tiebreak, but when they won set 2 6-1 everyone expect that they will finish the job quickly in the decisive long tiebreak. Instead Urgesi went on a ripper when it mattered most. The Italian hit 4 consecutive winners to give the unseeded underdogs 10:7 triumph on way to their first ever Grand Slam trophy.
FAQs – Australian Open Juniors
Who won the boy’s singles in 2022?
An American player by the name of Bruno Kuzuhara won the singles last year. He defeated Jakub Mansik in a thrilling three-set battle, taking the win 7-5 in the final set. Interestingly, Kuzuhara also won the boy’s doubles in 2022.
Who was the winner of the girl’s singles in 2022?
Petra Marcinko was the winner of the Australian Open girl’s singles last year. She fought against Sofia Costoulas of Belgium in the final, taking the win by a score of 7-5, 6-1.
Is it possible to bet on the junior tournaments?
That depends. Some bookmakers do let you wager on the junior tournaments, but others don’t offer markets since these players are not classed as professionals.
Who are the top contenders for the boy’s singles this year?
For the 2023 Australian Open boy’s juniors, there are four players ranked inside the top 20 in the world. Of these four players, the top-ranked player is Kilian Feldbausch of Switzerland, who will take the top seed for the event.
Are there any clear favourites for the girl’s singles?
Compared to the boy’s event where just four of the top 20 are playing, a total of 11 top 20 players are playing in the girl’s singles. However, the top-ranked player and number-one seed is Sara Saito of Japan.
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