Saturday was meant to conclude the girls’ doubles competition and complete the line-up of finalists. It only partially succeeded. Seven of the nine scheduled matches were completed before rain arrived over the AZS courts and brought play to a halt.
Two matches remained unfinished: the boys’ doubles semifinal featuring a Polish pair and the girls’ doubles final, which was intended to be the highlight of the evening. Both were rescheduled for Sunday.
SAPIC AND SHIBANI TO PLAY FOR THE TITLE
The third and fourth seeds advanced to the boys’ singles final. Djordje Sapic defeated Marco Meacci in three sets, immediately regaining control after the Italian had levelled the match.
Nikolai Shibani faced a more straightforward task. The Norwegian stopped Jorge Martinez Vasquez, the only unseeded player in the semifinals, with a 6–4, 6–4 victory. The Spaniard leaves the tournament after a run in which he eliminated the second and sixth seeds.
Sunday’s final will therefore be a meeting between the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The tournament’s two highest-ranked players — Tavish Pahwa and Lasse Bohr — had already been eliminated
CZECH GIRLS’ FINAL
The girls’ draw produced a final in which the same flag will appear on both sides of the net. Second seed Sara Oliveriusova defeated compatriot Katerina Filipova, despite losing the second set without winning a game.
In the second semifinal, Elly Meszarosova recovered after losing the opening set 1–6 and eliminated sixth seed Yerkezhan Zhanatayeva. The Czech is the only unseeded player to reach a singles final at this year’s tournament.
UNSEEDED UKRAINIANS REACH THE DOUBLES FINAL
Tymur Chukanov and Volodymyr Revenko became the first pair to reach the boys’ doubles final. The unseeded Ukrainian duo had already eliminated top seeds Tavish Pahwa and Djordje Sapic before knocking out the No. 3 seeds in the semifinal.
Their opponents are still unknown. The second semifinal between Antoni Kasperski and Hubert Plenkiewicz and second seeds Nicolas Fays and Marco Meacci could not be played.
RAIN STOPS THE GIRLS’ DOUBLES
Zofia Janusz and Martyna Sikora, the last Polish pair remaining in the girls’ draw, lost their semifinal to second seeds Ching Ying Chen and Yen-Ni Chiang 3–6, 1–6. In the other semifinal, Caroline Hermanns and Anna-Adelina Nykyforuk defeated the Finnish team of Milla Kotamaki and Emma Tuominen 6–2, 6–4.
The final was due to be played at the end of Saturday’s programme. Instead, rain intervened. The meeting between the top two seeded pairs will now take place on Sunday.
Following Saturday’s matches, only two Polish players remain in the tournament — Antoni Kasperski and Hubert Plenkiewicz. The pair, who eliminated the fourth seeds before comfortably winning their quarterfinal, still have a semifinal to play and, should they win, the final later the same day.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Sunday is finals day, preceded by the postponed semifinal. At 9:30 AM on Court 4, Kasperski and Plenkiewicz will face Fays and Meacci for a place in the boys’ doubles final.
Three finals begin simultaneously at 10:00 AM. On Court 1, Djordje Sapic will face Nikolai Shibani for the boys’ singles title. On Court 2, Elly Meszarosova will play Sara Oliveriusova for the girls’ singles crown. On Court 3, Caroline Hermanns and Anna-Adelina Nykyforuk will meet Ching Ying Chen and Yen-Ni Chiang in the rescheduled girls’ doubles final.
The boys’ doubles final will bring the tournament to a close. Tymur Chukanov and Volodymyr Revenko will play on Court 3 after the winners of the morning semifinal have had time to rest.
