2018 U18 Australian Champion.: Crnkorak and Hijikata make winning start
Back in the past, the Australian U18 Junior Championships had been one of the strongest tournaments you could have fines for the players of that age. Things have changed a little bit in the last couple of years, though, with the Australian boys failing to keep the pace with their rivals from around the world, having only two players in the Top 100 on the latest ITF junior ranking list! Both players have entered the U18 Championships and it should be interesting to follow the action this week and find out who will go all the way and secure the title and the place in the Australian Open qualifying draw.
The last year's winner Alexander Crnokrak has made the winning start in Group A, ousting Connor Johnson 6-1 6-2 after a great performance in both sets to join Campbell Salmon at the top of the standings. Johnson defeated the top seed Jayden Court 7-5 6-4 and he will now face Crnokrak on Tuesday to probably determine the winner of the group. The 2nd seed and junior world number 14 Rinky Hijikata has also made a winning start after a 6-4 6-2 triumph against Thomas Bosancic in an hour and 23 minutes while the 8th seed Chen Dong had to work hard to topple Alex Bulte 4-6 6-1 6-3 in more than two hours.
Seeds were at the top of their game in Group C, with Ken Cavrak scoring a 7-5 6-3 victory over Stefan Storch, moving ahead together with the 3rd seed Dane Sweeny who needed two hours and 15 minutes to down Sean Van Rensburg 6-7 6-3 6-0, playing better and better as the match progress to open the tournament in a winning way. The 5th seed Matthew Dellavedova bested Oliver Douglas 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 30 minutes and it was Tom Evans who scored the second win of the day over the seeded players, coming from a set down to oust Tristan Schoolkate 3-6 6-2 6-4 after two and a half hours. First day round robin results:
Group A:
[7]Alexander Crnokrak vs Connor Johnson 6-1 6-2 Campbell Salmon vs [1]Jayden Court 7-5 6-4
Group B:
[2]Rinky Hijikata vs Thomas Bosancic 6-4 6-2 [8]Chen Dong vs Alex Bulte 4-6 6-1 6-3
Group C:
[6]Ken Cavrak vs Stefan Storch 7-5 6-3 [3]Dane Sweeny vs Sean Van Rensburg 6-7 6-3 6-0
Group D:
[5]Matthew Dellavedova vs Oliver Douglas 6-3 6-4 Tom Evans vs [4]Tristan Schoolkate 3-6 6-2 6-4
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Qb2f6I
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