Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/117483
If ever there was an example of the cream rising to the top, then it came in the Australian Open junior event as Australia���s Nick Kyrgios and Croatia���s Ana Konjuh won their first Grand Slam singles titles, vaulting themselves to the No. 1 rankings. by Simon Cambers Konjuh also won the girls��� doubles with Canada���s Carol Zhao Bradley Mousley and Jay Andrijic were delighted with their boys��� doubles trophy A back injury reduced Thanasi Kokkinakis���s chances in the decider It was Katerina Siniakova���s first Grand Slam final the US Open. I don���t really mind clay either so hopefully I���m going to try and make a really good stand there (at Roland Garros) this year.��� Kokkinakis said he had performed ���a little better than I thought��� after an MRI scan the night before revealed stress fractures in his back. ���I didn���t think I���d make it through a set,��� he said. ���It held up and didn���t really get that much worse during play. But it just hurt when I tried to push off. I was a little bit annoyed but I thought I���d give it a crack.��� Siniakova was the highest-ranked player in the girls��� draw (No. 1 seed Yulia Putintseva withdrew as she reached the second round of the women���s event) but Konjuh, the No. 3 seed, had already got the better of the Czech www.itftennis.com twice in big finals last year, at the Eddie Herr International and in the Orange Bowl. With a strong serve and huge groundstrokes, Konjuh cruised through the draw until the semifinals where Russia���s Elizaveta Kulichkova pushed her to a third set. In the final, she trailed 4-1 in the second set before storming back for a deserved victory, to add to the doubles title she won with Carol Zhao of Canada. ���It feels really great,��� said Konjuh, who was watched throughout the week by her Fed Cup captain Iva Majoli, the French Open champion in 1997. ���I won doubles and singles, in my first time here. Just the feeling is incredible. We played twice, so I know her well. I had good tactics and I just used them, I guess.��� Second seed Siniakova was upset to have missed out but pleased with her week���s work. ���She played very well but I think I could play better than I did,��� she said. ���I was 4-1 up in the second set and played a bad service game and then she started to believe again. But it was a great week for me and it was a great experience to play on Rod Laver Arena. I hope I can do it again soon.��� Konjuh and Zhao, the No. 1 seeds in the doubles, saw off sixth seeds Oleksandra Korashvili of Ukraine and Czech Barbora Krejcikova 57 64 [10-7] in the final. The boys��� title went to Australia���s unseeded pair, Bradley Mousley and Jay Andrijic, who beat Germany���s Maximilian Marterer and Lucas Miedler of Austria 63 76. ITFWORLD SPRING 2013 29