Confidence and opportunity: What winning Australian Open juniors means
Winning the singles title at the Australian Open Junior Championships - while a wonderful achievement - comes with many hidden benefits says a former boys' champion.
Sebastian Korda, who won the junior crown in Melbourne five years ago, has made the transition to the senior tour impeccably. Seeded 29 in the men’s draw at this year’s Australian Open, he was within a point of beating Novak Djokovic earlier this month at the ATP 250 Adelaide International crown before going down in three very tight sets.
His message to all juniors in this year’s 64 player draw? Don't be afraid.
“It was the first time I ever went to Australia,” he said of his 2018 triumph. "It was my last year of juniors and I played a couple of Challengers the week before. My expectations were to win, I was top 10 at the time but there were a lot of great players.”
“Felix (Auger-Aliassime), Casper (Ruud) and Holger Rune were all juniors [then].. It was cool to come through at the same time and try and take over the men’s tour"
Regardless of results, the junior tournament also gives the leading juniors a pretty good idea of who they’ll be playing at a senior level over the next few years.
“Felix (Auger-Aliassime), Casper (Ruud) as I was coming in, Holger Rune, were there. It was cool to come through at the same time and try and take over the men’s tour. It was a changing of the guard - we are coming," he said.
“It brings confidence and the opportunity to get wildcards into ATP events and Challenger events, gives a little more recognition and overall it’s a really good experience to have under your belt.
“It shows you all the hard work is paying off.”
There is a downside, however. Winning the Junior Australian Open can make you a target for everyone else.
"I was now junior No. 1 and a Grand Slam winner, it’s always nice to know you are playing well and everyone wants to beat you.”
And don’t be fooled into thinking that no-one beyond the Junior tour is taking notice either.
“I watch them coming up," he said of the fresh crop of youngsters. "I watch a lot of junior matches and I went and saw all the Americans in Melbourne last year. Yeah, if I’m still here second week, I’ll be watching again.”
While he is not American, the Swiss 17-year-old - and top seed at this tournament - Kilian Feldbausch, is surely a player Korda will be keen to check out.
"I watch a lot of junior matches and I went and saw all the Americans in Melbourne last year"
A semi-finalist in Melbourne 12 months ago, Feldbausch is the son of former WTA player Cathy Caverzasio who reached No. 34 in the world rankings. Not 18 until September, the powerful right-hander faces Australian wildcard Thomas Gadecki, the younger brother of Olivia Gadecki who reached the second round of the women’s singles in Melbourne this month, in round one.
A player who could face Feldbausch in the boys' final on Saturday January 28 (should all go to plan for both) is No. 2 seed Illyan Radulov from Bulgaria, who arrived in Australia as a member of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/ITF Touring Team. The initiative helps players travel widely as part of the team and gives them access to high-performance coaches while gaining exposure to the top junior events outside their region.
Wildcard Yuta Tomida is first up for Radulov in the round of 64.
Hugh Winter, a 16-year-old wildcard from South Australia, is playing in his first Australian Open as a junior and tees off against the Czech Republic’s Vit Kalina.
As well as home advantage, Winter comes with some very handy recent experience, hitting for 45 minutes with Felix Auger Aliassime in practice before this month’s Adelaide International as well as for an hour with Andy Murray, famous this week for his near six-hour marathon victory against former Australian Open boys' singles runner-up Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Do not miss Sara Saito in the girls’ junior singles. The top seed, Sara is still only 16-years-old but has already represented Japan at the 2021 and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Juniors in Antalya. She also won the biggest title of her career in Osaka – at the Osaka Mayor’s Cup – in October last year, and faces Australian wildcard Stefani Webb, the junior world No. 187, in round one.
Also a veteran of the Antalya Billie Jean King Cup Juniors, Australia’s Emerson Jones takes on Brazil’s Carolina Xavier Laydner with the victor to play the winner of the match between Pursoo Anazgasty (USA) and second seed Tereza Valentova, who was part of the Czech team that finished runner-up to the USA in Antalya.
It all begins at 11am on Saturday at Melbourne Park. The future of the sport starts here.