Russian juniors Anna Blinkova and Olesya Pervushina both made a big splash on the ITF Pro Circuit Sunday afternoon, reminding the rest of the women’s tour that the next generation of young juniors are rapidly beginning to make their mark on the professional tour.
Blinkova, Pervushina Earn Career-Best Victories
Blinkova, a 17-year-old Muscovite, has been having quite the season. After capturing the prestigious ITF Junior Masters in Chengdu in April, the Russian has been focusing exclusively on the professional tour, but without much luck. That was the case until this week, when she picked up her second professional title at the Ladies Tennis Cup, a $25,000 tournament held in Westende, Belgium.
Having looked utterly dominant all week, the 17-year-old capped off a memorable week with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over second seed Valentini Grammatikopolou. Having struggled to win back-to-back matches since her championship-winning run in Chengdu, one can easily assume that this victory must taste oh, so sweet for the former junior world number three.
In contrast, Pervushina’s victory is the latest highlight of a stellar summer that has seen her win the prestigious Trofeo Bonfiglio junior title in May, make an appearance in the final of the Nike Junior International in Roehampton and earn back-to-back junior semifinal appearances at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
On the red clay of Leipzig, the 16-year-old qualified for the main draw at the loss of just five games in two matches, before powering through the draw, overcoming a few major obstacles, including a victory over former top 100 player and fourth seed Arantxa Rus to book her place in Sunday’s showpiece. Once there, the Russian edged out a tight final against Austria’s Julia Grabher, 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-5 to win the Leipzig Open 2016—her first $25,000 title, third of the year, and fourth overall.
Even more incredibly, Pervushina also continues her unbeaten run in professional tournaments this season, going three for three and 15-0 on the year.
Frenchmen Chazal, Janvier Battle to Championship Crowns
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, it was a weekend to remember for Frenchmen Maxime Chazal and Maxime Janvier, who took home the two $25,000 titles on offer for the men in Padova and Bydgoszcz, respectively.
Chazal had plenty of reason to celebrate, edging out fourth-seeded Austrian Michael Linzer 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-5 in the final of the Torneo ITF 2001 Team - Padova in a grueling three hour and 32 minute battle under the scorching Italian sun. This victory marks the culmination of a superb summer, one that has seen the fifth-seeded Frenchmen win 13 of his last 15 matches on the ITF Pro Circuit.
Janvier, by contrast, will be mightily pleased with his victory in a rain-delayed final that had to be pushed until Monday morning. After struggling to win back-to-back matches since early May, the fourth-seeded Frenchmen found a new gear, defeating Poland’s very own Andriej Kapas 6-3, 6-3 to win the Bydgoszcz Centrum Cup, his second title of the season and fifth overall.