ITF

lot of experience last year in New York, so I knew how to manage the pressure and the feelings of a final." Musetti's route to the final had seen him dispatch wildcard and home favourite Tai Sach, Phuong van Nguyen of Vietnam, Canada's Liam Draxl, Spaniard Nicolas Alvarez Varona and fellow Italian Giulio Zeppieri in straight sets. Nava's course was more turbulent, with the American overcoming No. 2 seed Bu Yunchaokete of China in the third round and Romania's No. 4 seed Filip Cristian Jianu in the semifinals, both in three sets. But when the moment of opportunity arrived, it was Musetti who prevailed, and the Carrara-born right-hander bumped in to soon-to-be seven-time Australian Open men's champion Novak Djokovic as he left Rod Laver Arena. "He just said: 'congratulations'," added Musetti. "He knew that I'd lost the final in New York and he told me: 'you have a good mental trainer'. I said that I'd learned from him. I enjoyed Novak's words." There were no questions for Clara Tauson to field regarding her transport of choice, just an acceleration of a winning streak which ultimately elevated the 16-year-old to the summit of the combined junior rankings. After claiming her maiden Grand Slam crown with victory over Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez, the Dane boasted a 34-2 win-loss record dating back to her victory at the European Junior Championships in Klosters, Switzerland in July. But despite a brutal march to the final – top seed Tauson defeated Sijia Wei, Valentina Ryser, Kamilla Bartone and Daria Snigur without dropping a set – it was her first round tussle against Australian wild card Anastasia Berezov, in which she lost the first set 6-1, that caused the most anxiety. "I wasn't expecting to win here after the first round, but I kept working hard during some tough matches. I got through it and I'm very happy," said Tauson, who began 2019 by winning the Grade 1 event in Traralgon, defeating Fernandez in the final. "The start of the year has been good for me, but she was playing really well in the beginning. I feel like I won because I kept fighting and kept my emotions in check." There was no need for a Musetti-style comeback in the final, with Tauson defeating left-hander Fernandez 6-4 6-3 before an emotional celebration, while another accolade soon followed. Days after her triumph, Tauson became the first Danish girl to secure the combined world No. 1 junior ranking, following in the footsteps of Kristian Pless – the maiden boy from Denmark to seal the No. 1 ranking 20 years ago. By reaching the world No. 1 spot, Tauson – the fourth Danish player to win a junior Grand Slam – outperformed compatriot Caroline Wozniacki, who only made it to No. 2 in the junior standings. But as she toasted her success by watching the Naomi Osaka-Petra Kvitova women's singles final alongside family and friends, Tauson may well have imagined usurping other achievements of 2018 Australian Open champion Wozniacki. ■ MEN'S SINGLES Novak Djokovic (SRB) WOMEN'S SINGLES Naomi Osaka (JPN) MEN'S DOUBLES Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) Nicolas Mahut (FRA) WOMEN'S DOUBLES Samantha Stosur (AUS) Zhang Shuai (CHN) MIXED DOUBLES Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) Rajeev Ram (USA) BOYS' SINGLES Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) GIRLS' SINGLES Clara Tauson (DEN) BOYS' DOUBLES Jonas Forejtek (CZE) Dalibor Svrcina (CZE) GIRLS' DOUBLES Natsumi Kawaguchi (JPN) Adrienn Nagy (HUN) MEN'S WHEELCHAIR SINGLES Gustavo Fernandez (ARG) WOMEN'S WHEELCHAIR SINGLES Diede de Groot (NED) WHEELCHAIR QUAD SINGLES Dylan Alcott (AUS) MEN'S WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES Joachim Gerard (BEL) Stefan Olsson (SWE) WOMEN'S WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES Diede de Groot (NED) Aniek van Koot (NED) WHEELCHAIR QUAD DOUBLES Dylan Alcott (AUS) Heath Davidson (AUS) ITFWorld // SPRING 2019 39 Nava pushed Musetti all the way in the boys' final Musetti lay prone on the court following his triumph over Nava champions A U S T R A L I A N O P E N

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