This year’s strongest nation has shown to be Great Britain, having the same two boys both triumph in the doubles tournament yesterday, and today face off against each other in the singles final of the Kungens Kanna.
Jack Pinnington Jones continued his methodical play and managed to beat the top seeded Dane, Elmer Møller, with relative ease and composure. While some may argue that this was an upset by an apparent underdog, it is worth noting that some of Møller’s biggest achievements are from more than a year ago and it seems like the competition has finally begun to catch up to him. However, making it to the semifinals of Kungens Kanna and reaching the quarterfinals of Tarbes is hardly something to scoff at.
The other semifinal between Joel Pierleoni and the French Max Westphal proved to be substantially closer. As the match (that can best be described as a game of inches) played out it was however clear that Pierleoni had a slight advantage. Both players put in a brilliant performance and fought each other to the bitter end, where the British Joel Pierleoni stood as victor by 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Joel and Jack have practiced extensively together and know each other well, making the final hard to predict.
After their respective semifinal wins they returned to the court to play the doubles final against the surprising duo Jacobi Bain (Bahamas) and Michael Minasyan (Sweden). The latter duo has been performing well above expectation and you could hardly tell that their partnership only happened by chance; the tournament staff helped pair them together mere minutes before the sign in deadline.
This year’s Kungens Kanna and Drottningens Pris have been incredibly hard to predict due to the absence of some of the world’s best 14-year olds. This has meant that the starting field has been more even than usual, making predictions harder. However, this has had the unexpected side effect of many incredibly close and exciting matches. What seems to be the common theme for both boy finalists is their consistently high level of play.
The tall Romanian, Fatima Keita, with her spectacular one-handed backhand was shut down by the solemn Austrian, Elena Karner. Great play from Karner with a magnificent second set earned her a spot in the finals of Drottningens Pris.
Amarissa Toth, the energetic Hungarian, has so far displayed a very complete play style, keeping her opponents busy with aggressions from the baseline, net attacks and a strong defence. Yesterday was no exception when her unrelenting style eventually broke her opponent, Darja Vidmanova from the Czech Republic.
We look forwards to an interesting final between Toth and Karner later today, and hope that many Stockholm locals can make it to the game here at Kungl. Tennishallen.
As many have noted, the Russian dominance at the tournament has come to an abrupt end. But that didn’t stop the hard working Russian pair Maria Bondarenk and Milana Zhabrailova to win the girls doubles final yesterday against the American Michelle Tikhonko and singles finalist Amarissa Toth, winning the Peter Wallenbergs Honorary Price in two straight sets.
Saturdays schedule:
10:30 AM Final Kungens Kanna
Jack Pinnington Jones (GBR) vs. Joel Pierleoni (GBR)
Followed by Final Drottningens Pris
Elena Karner (AUT) vs. Amarissa Toth (HUN)
