Monday, December 18, 2006
Canadians Rule at Prince Cup
Canada's top junior players proved to be in a class all of their own at this year's edition of the Prince Cup in Miami, Florida.
Vancouver's Nina Pantic was a two-time champion, capturing the girls 18 singles title after defeating Jazmin Clarke of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4, and the girls 18 doubles crown with partner Trudie Du Toit of Abbotsford, B.C. The Canadian duo took out the third-seeded team of Great Britain's Anna Fitzpatrick and fellow Canadian Katarena Paliivets of Richmond Hill, Ontario in straight sets. In October, Du Toit won the doubles title at the World Ranking Event in Montreal while Paliivets was a singles semifinalist at the Eddie Herr International.
Meanwhile, it was a Canadian clean sweep in the under 12 age category. Emma Onilia of Burlington, Ontario was crowned the girls 12 champion after defeating fourth-seeded Michelle Dandik of Montreal 6-3, 6-3 in an all-Canadian final. Onilia posted several notable wins on the way to the title including victories over third-seeded Russian Yuliya Valetova and sixth-seeded Montreal native Eugenie Bouchard. For his part, second-seeded Edward Nguyen of Ottawa continued his impeccable play in claiming the boys 12 singles title after defeating Korean Jaehwan Kim in the final. Nguyen reached the semifinal round at the prestigious Eddie Herr International tournament earlier this month.
Sixth-seeded Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario finished second in the boys 18 draw, falling to Xander Spong of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-4 in the final. In addition, Raonic took home the boys 18 doubles crown with his partner Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C. The eighth-seeded Canadian duo took out the fourth ranked Italian team of Davide Della Tommasina and Alessandro Giannessi in a tough three set final tilt 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Raonic has also been on a roll lately, reaching the round of 16 in the boys 18 main draw as a 15-year old qualifier at the Eddie Herr International.
The Prince Cup caps off a stellar season for Canada's top juniors, one that has been highlighted by two Grand Slam final appearances by Philip Bester and Peter Polansky, as well as two Grand Slam doubles titles courtesy of Sharon Fichman who also finished the year ranked No. 5 on the junior circuit. Not to mention the impressive performances posted by Canadians in recent weeks at the Eddie Herr International and the Orange Bowl. If this season's results are any indication, the future is certainly bright for Canadian tennis.
Two Circuit Canada Events on Tap for the Holiday Season
Ontario will play host to two Circuit Canada events during the coming weeks for those of us whose holiday seasons will be empty without tennis.
The 9K York Racquets Holiday Classic will be held on clay from December 26-30 at the York Racquets Club in Toronto. The tournament will include 32 player men's and women's main draws, as well as a qualifying draw in men's and women's open singles. The main draw of both events will consist of twenty direct entries, eight qualifiers, and four wild cards. The winners will receive $2,000 in prize money.
The tenth edition of the Canadian Indoor Open Championships will take place in the new year from January 2-6 on hard courts of the Cedar Springs Health Racquet and Sports Club in Burlington, Ontario. Entrants will compete in a 64 player men's singles draw and a 48 player women's singles draw with the champions also receiving $2,000 in prize money.
For more information, please visit the Tennis Canada website at www.tenniscanada.com
