Parry predicts bright French future after triumph | ITF

Parry predicts bright French future after triumph

Ross McLean

27 Oct 2019

A thrilled Diane Parry believes a new generation of dynamic French talent is emerging after sealing the ITF Junior Finals girls' title by crushing Daria Snigur of Ukraine on Centre Court.

Reigning Wimbledon girls' champion Snigur barely laid a glove on her rival as Nice-born Parry claimed her 11th successive match-win in just 58 minutes, prevailing 6-3 6-1. 

France can now lay claim to the previous two girl's champions here following Clara Burel's triumph 12 months ago, while Parry is one of four players to have flown under the banner of Le Tricolore at this year's tournament. 

The strength of the French contingent in Chengdu is epitomised by Harold Mayot reaching the boys' final and Valentin Royer and Elsa Jacquemot sealing third place in their respective draws. Parry considers this merely a sign of things to come. 

"I think the new generation is a good one and I see this group making an impact in the future," Parry told itftennis.com.

"There were four of us here this year so we are pretty good right now in juniors and there are some younger girls who are playing very well also.

"For me, I will now play professional tournaments only. There will be some fears to overcome but I will try to go far in the rankings."

This time last year, Burel’s Chengdu triumph propelled her to the summit of the girls' rankings as she proceeded to scoop the year-end No. 1 slot and an ITF World Champion accolade. A matter of months later she received a wild card entry to the Australian Open main draw.

Victory ensures Parry will retain the junior world No. 1 spot she acquired courtesy of her title-winning exploits in Osaka last week, while she revealed she received a good luck message from Burel on the eve of the final which provided additional inspiration. 

"Clara and I are friends and I know her really well as we have played doubles together previously," said Parry, who reached the second round of the Roland Garros main draw during the summer.

"She messaged me last night and just said: Good luck, enjoy yourself and do your best. It was lovely to receive. I came here to do what she did and I have done it. I'm so happy."

As anticipation of the final turned to reality, Parry stormed out of the blocks and within the blink of an eye had twice broken an out-of-sorts Snigur's service game before wrapping up the opening set in just 24 minutes. 

It was a case of role reversal in the second as Snigur surged into a 3-0 lead, only to be pegged back to 3-3, before Parry landed the knockout blow. 

"I tried to apply a lot of pressure at the beginning of the match and start really quickly," she added. 

"I am just so, so happy. It is amazing for me to win this trophy. I was happy to be in the final but to have won the match is incredible."

Snigur, meanwhile, was unable to summon the spirit of her SW19 success in July and admitted that pre-match tension affected her performance. 

"It was a tough final," she said. "I'm shocked because I lost 6-1 6-3 and for me that is bad.

"I lost because I was nervous. I didn't show my best game but finishing second is still a good result.

"Big matches for me are not good because I am really nervous but it is very important to learn from defeats like this. 

"But despite the result, I still loved the tournament, it's a beautiful tournament."

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