LTA site has a nice report :



On Dan -


Confidence exuded from British junior Daniel Cox as he made a winning start to the Australian Open boys’ singles, although there were defeats for Graeme Dyce, Naomi Cavaday and Jade Curtis.

Ranking wise Cox was evenly matched against Russia’s Vladmir Zinyakov but height wise he was conceding almost six inches to his fellow 16-year-old.

Regardless, the right-hander from Lancashire proved himself by far the more accomplished as he won through 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.

Despite the presence of Russian Davis Cup hero Mikhail Youzhny sitting courtside, Cox showed his opponent he meant business from the outset and his initial concentration was encouraging.

In the first set he was almost faultless and dominant from the service line. Indeed he did not drop a single point on second serve.

Zinyakov rallied in the second set and looked to be playing himself back into contention but Cox took control again to win a place in the second round of his first Grand Slam campaign away from Wimbledon.



On Dyce -

Dyce looked on course to join him as the Scot who is based at Nick Bollettieri’s Academy in Florida led by a set and two breaks of serve against 15-year-old Lazare Kukhalashvili of Georgia.

Judy Murray looked confident but her fellow Scot did not share her assurance, even though he moved to match point.

Dyce’s problems got worse as he began suffering cramping problems in the racket hand as the Georgian completed a 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory.



On Curtis and Cavaday-

Britain’s two girls at the Australian Open, Curtis and Cavaday, both offered spirited performances before meeting with first round defeats.

Curtis could not convert two match points against 14-year-old Ukrainian Lyudmyia Kichenok and went on to lose a marathon encounter 4-6, 6-4, 9-7.

On an adjoining court Cavaday faced up to sixth-seeded Alize Cornet and had a set point to square the match before going out 6-1, 7-6.

A four-hour rain delay halted Curtis’s match after she played some excellent tennis to win the first set but Kichenok levelled soon after the resumption and then moved into what seemed to be a commanding lead at 5-2 in the third.

But as so often is the case 16-year-old Curtis produced her best tennis with her back to the wall and saved a couple of match points on her way to levelling at 5-all.

The Cornish girl’s pace around the court kept her in contention against her younger opponent and she continued her momentum to force two match points of her own.

A Kichenok forehand winner and a Curtis backhand long kept the Ukrainian in the match as gusty winds made play increasingly difficult.

An ill-timed Curtis double fault presented Kichenok with two more match points and this time a backhand in the net ended British hopes.

“That was a tough one to take,” said Curtis’ coach Jason Spence. “Like with so many of Jade’s matches there were some very good bits and some very bad.

“It has been a difficult couple of months for her but she is still very determined. Her problem right now is she is worrying too much about the results and not concentrating on how she is actually playing.”

Cavaday, a semi-finalist at last week’s Grade 1 ITF junior tournament in nearby Nottinghill knew she was in for a tough match against Cornet who knocked British No.1 Anne Keothavong out of qualifying for the main event.

For a set Cavaday was outclassed by the right-handed girl from Nice who ended 2006 ranked the world’s 15th best junior but she forced her way back into contention in the second.

“I think Naomi will learn from this experience because Cornet is good enough to go on and win this title,” said David Felgate, who is temporarily helping with Cavaday’s coaching.




http://www.lta.org.uk/Newsroom/GeneralNews/070121OzOpenJuniors.htm?BSMGuid=71645529-d367-4a4b-b612-c1e1866465b6

-- Edited by Arka at 15:20, 2007-01-22