ITF

ITFWorld // SUMMER 2018 3 5 Tseng Chun Hsin of Chinese Taipei followed in the footsteps of France's Gael Monfils by winning a singles double at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. By Linda Pearce HISTORY BOY WHEN TSENG CHUN HSIN OFFICIALLY FAREWELLS JUNIOR TENNIS LATER THIS YEAR, HE WILL TAKE, AT THE VERY LEAST, A PRECIOUS PAIR OF TITLES THAT GAEL Monfils was the last to own. Back in 2004, the outrageously talented then-17-year-old from France completed the boys' singles double at Roland Garros and Wimbledon; until this year, no-one else had so successfully mastered the quick switch to grass from clay. So while the first winner from Chinese Taipei of the boys' title at the All England Club has followed in the Slam-winning footsteps of compatriot and 2008 Roland Garros junior champion Tsung-Hua Yang, there is no doubt he is currently leading the way. Impressive indeed is a record of three major finals on three surfaces for two wins already in 2018. Yet although Tseng, who received $25,000 earlier this year as part of the first wave of ITF International Junior Player Grants, shares an August birthday with Roger Federer, the 17-year-old is one of the few not to nominate the Swiss great as his tennis idol. That honour, understandably, goes to Japanese superstar Kei Nishikori. "I think I play similar like him, so I want to be the same like him," said Tseng, who as a 12-year-old approached Nishikori for a photo during a junior tournament in Florida and displays it proudly on his Facebook page. ➝ Tseng Chun Hsin has enjoyed a stunning 2018, reaching the final of the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon J U N I O R G R A N D S L A M S

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