Aura, target, man to beat: Bigun relishing top dog Wimbledon status
Kaylan Bigun may well ice cool as he contests his first Junior Grand Slam as the world’s top-ranked boy, but he is refusing to freeze under the glare of the Wimbledon spotlight.
The Los Angeles-born American breezed into the second round of the Junior Championships following a commanding 6-0 6-3 victory over home favourite Maximilian Carrier of Great Britian.
Bigun rocketed to the summit of the ITF World Tennis Tour boys’ rankings following back-to-back title-wins at J500 Milan and then the Roland Garros Junior Championships in June.
A 14-match winning streak was snapped last week at J300 Roehampton – the traditional warm-up event for Wimbledon – but a Grand Slam brings additional scrutiny, although not that you would know it.
“It feels pretty good coming here as a Junior Grand Slam champion and the junior world No.1,” Bigun told itftennis.com. “People have different expectations of you and there is a little bit of an aura around you.
“That is something I like. I enjoy being the guy that everyone is looking at and saying, ‘he is one of the best players’, and I welcome people who really want to beat me as a result.
“It is a pretty good place to be in, and I’m happy to go out there and have guys fear me a little bit more and want to beat me a little bit more. I am a competitor and I embrace it.”
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In a social media game with the ITF at J300 Roehampton, Bigun revealed that one thing people may not know about him is that he loves Popeyes – a legendary American fried chicken chain.
Apparently, he loves to chow down on five-piece chicken tenders and biscuits with sweet tea. Imagine his delight, therefore, when he found Popeyes had made its way to the United Kingdom.
“I already went there,” added Bigun, who was part of the United States team that finished second at the 2022 Davis Cup Juniors Finals. “There is one right next to the hotel. I was there last night, but don’t tell my coaches.”
Bigun also mentioned during his startling run at Roland Garros that he loves to build Lego models while on tour, and that habit has continued here at Wimbledon. He is currently erecting a Lamborghini.
The teenager's main building blocks, however, are on court and round two awaits for the junior world No.1.
A full list of results from the Junior Championships, Wimbledon is available here.