Slovakia's Jamrichova beats home favourite Jones to claim AO title
Renata Jamrichova has come across as confident yet wholly unassuming all week. She is the top seed in a strong singles pool and at 16 years old sits in the middle of the junior age group.
She possesses a reliable kick serve and moves around the court well. Power comes with her height (she is tall and statuesque) and she has a cracking left-handed forehand, easily the best we’ve seen this tournament.
Off court she ticks all the boxes too: polite, chatty in English (she is Slovakian) and interesting and with a wider focus beyond just herself. She has a clothing deal with Nike and has recently started playing some professional events. She plays the piano very well and is pals with Daniela Hantuchova, an accomplished classical pianist as well as a former world No. 5 tennis player.
She also deserves to be the 2024 Australian Open girls' champion after beating Australia's new golden girl Emerson Jones 6-4 6-1 in Saturday afternoon's singles final.
But, there is a but. Scrolling down the list of AO junior girls' champions is not ideal reading for any new champion.
The last juniors champ at Melbourne Park to bag a professional singles slam anywhere is Victoria Azarenka, back in 2005. Before that it is Sue Barker in 1975 (she also won Roland Garros in 1976).
Jamrichova, hopefully, can buck the trend. A few early wobbles aside she was imperious in this AO girls' final.
“At first I started really nervous because of the crowd and because of the Rod Laver Arena but then I told myself, just be happy on the court and enjoy every point,” she said.
Just 16 years old, she has two younger sisters back in Slovakia she said, their bedtime precluding them seeing their sister win her first major crown.
“I think they are sleeping, but they are going to school at eight in the morning, so when they wake up they'll find out from my parents. Because they are watching,” she said.
It is all so. so different to the pro game.
Pre-match in the tunnel beneath Rod Laver Arena the players stood together, towels draped around their shoulders, pointing at a TV screen showing themselves and laughing out loud, everything brand new and mystical.
“I am pretty close with Reneta, we get along really well,” said Jones. “And we were laughing, we didn’t think we were getting videod and we were like ‘what’s going on’?"
And so the match.
Jones came out fighting, her double-handed backhand perfection and within minutes was 4-1 ahead, her all-court movement sublime. Jamrichova, though, is a champion and found her range and from nowhere and found herself at 4-4, sealing it with a 180kmh ace and then rattling off 11 of the next 12 games, 6-4 6-1 the outcome.
Jones looked at home on Rod Laver Arena and Jamrichova initially did not but having gathered herself, there was only one winner.
“I was kind of telling myself I am not really the one expected to win this match and I have nothing to lose at all and she was clearly a bit nervous at the start," Jones said. “And then she started to get her serve and her shots in and she really played well."
Just 15 years old and with her family and best friend in the stands, the Queenslander sensibly sought only the positives post match.
“My backhand line is probably one of my strongest shots, my top selection. She got it back a few times but it is definitely a shot I would go for more than not," said Jones.
Australia is going to know a lot more about you now she was told. Are you ready for that?
“Yeah, it’s great because everyone is supporting me massively. Mum (an Olympic silver medalist) is really proud of me. Renata was probably a bit too good for me today.”
It has been, for both girls, the very best of weeks.
A full list of results from the 2024 Australian Open Junior Championships is available here.