by Ian Marshall, Editor
Andrei Istrate won the junior boys’ singles title; the no.7 seed, after accounting for Croatia’s Lovro Zovko, the no.4 seed, at the quarter-final stage, he beat Slovakia’s Filip Delincak, the no.2 seed (11-8, 11-9, 18-16, 11-13, 3-11, 11-3) and Peru’s Carlos Fernandez, the no.3 seed (6-11, 11-4, 14-12, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7) to arrest the title.
Notably, Carlos Fernandez was a young man in form; following a semi-final win against Romania’s Andrei Tomica, the no.8 seed (14-12, 5-11, 17-15, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9), he ousted Croatia’s Ivor Ban, the top seed, to reach the final (11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10).
Silver medal
Success for Andrei Istrate in the junior boys’ singles competition, in the counterpart cadet boys’ singles event he had to settle for silver. In the final, the no.2 seed, after having accounted for Norway’s Martin Froseth, the no.4 seed (11-2, 11-3, 6-11, 11-3), he was beaten by colleague Paul Szilagy. Earlier, in the penultimate round, Paul Szlagyi had beaten Carlos Fernandez, the top seed (11-9, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9).
Apart a level of success for Andrei Istrate and Paul Szilagyi; together there was also success. They won the cadet boys’ doubles event, in the fnal accounting for Slovakia’s Samuel Arpas and Samuel Palusek (11-4, 12-10, 13-11).
More Romanian success
Titles for the Romania boys, it was the same for their female counterparts. Following a semi-final success against Chrysi Fotiadou of Greece, the top seed (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5), Bianca Mei Rosu, the no.5 seed, beat Belgium’s Julie Van Hauwaert (11-6, 17-15, 11-5) to arrest the title. In the corresponding semi-final, Julie Van Hauwaert had ended the progress of Evelyn Ungvari, the no.4 seed (11-8, 11-8, 11-9).
Defeat for Evelyn Ungvari but in the cadet girls’ doubles event it was success; partnering Bianca Mei Rosu the pair secured the title at the final expense of Julie Van Hauwaert and colleague Sara Devos (11-7, 3-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7).
Dominant duo
Gold for Romania and almost more gold; in the junior girls’ doubles event, Claudia Caragea and Ioanna Singeorzan experienced defeat in the final against Serbia’s Reka Bezeg and Radmila Tominjak (11-6, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5), the players who dominated the junior girls’ singles competition.
At the final hurdle, Radmila Tominjak, the top seed, beat Reka Bezeg, the no.2 seed, to secure the title (11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-7), having earlier in the latter stages ousted Slovakia’s Adriana Illasova, the no.9 seed (9-11, 11-0, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 and Romania’s Ioana Singeorzan, the no.11 seed (17-15, 8-11, 11-5, 7-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9).
Tense times for Radmila Tominjak, for Reka Bezeg facing Hungarian opposition, times were less tense. At the quarter-final stage she beat Claudia Caragea, the no.5 seed (14-12, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8), followed by success in opposition to Evelyn Ungvari (9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9).
Gold for Croatia
Titles for Serbia and Romania, there was also gold for Croatia; Ivor Ban and Lovro Zovko emerged the junior boys’ doubles champions, in the final they beat the combination of Sweden’s Willam Bergenblock and Romania’s Danel Moldovan (11-2, 12-10, 11-8).
Play concluded in Skopje, attention now turns to Sharm El-Shiekh; the 2019 Egyptian Junior and Cadet Open commences on Wednesday 16th October.
