Brothers Jakub and Kacper Piwowar were both winners as the new year started with the Cliffedale Chandlers 4*
Jakub took the Under-19 (Junior) Boys title, while Kacper triumphed in the Under-17 Boys’ Singles. Meanwhile, Stuti Kashyap of the United States won two titles.
Competitions in the Junior (U19) and Cadet (U15) categories contribute to the rankings which provide a qualifying route to the Nationals of their respective age group next year. Winners are automatically invited (if eligible) and points are awarded based on how far players progress in the competitions. Updated rankings will be published later this week.
Jakub Piwowar (pictured above, photo by Michael Loveder) had to come from 2-1 down in the Junior final to beat Oliver Chu – the final score 3-2 (11-2, 5-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6).
Piwowar dropped just two matches en route to the final, including a 3-1 (12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8) win over top seed Isaac Kingham in the semi-finals.
Chu had made it through the bottom half of the draw, where he had a monumental semi-final against Dimitar Dimitrov, eventually winning 3-2 (11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 12-14, 11-7).
It was the third consecutive five-setter for Dimitrov, who defeated Theo Kniep 3-2 (8-11, 11-2, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5) in the last 16 and Pablo Ramirez Rioja 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 10-12, 11-9) in the quarter-finals.
The Under-19 Girls’ Singles went to the US as Stuti Kashyap defeated Sienna Jetha in the final. It was a relatively easy 3-0 (5, 6, 5) victory for Kashyap, who had earlier knocked out top seed Ella Pashley in the quarter-finals by a striking margin of 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-1), before beating Mabel Shute at four in the semi-finals.
Jetha had to stave off a comeback from Rachael Iles in her semi-final before breaking through at 3-2 (11-6, 11-7, 5-11, 5-11, 11-5).
Kacper Piwowar defeated Max Radiven in a decider to win the under-17 boys title. Both boys led the final, but it was Piwowar who took his chance for two in the fifth to complete a 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 13-11) victory.
The final was not Piwowar’s only long match; in the round of 32 he had to dig himself out of a hole after Noah Byrne-Smith recovered from losing the first game 11–1 to win the next two. Piwowar eventually came through with 3-2 (11-1, 9-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7).
The defeated semi-finalists were Ryan Holland, who lost to Piwowar in four, and Jake Davidson, who defeated Radiven in three.
Kashyap also won the under-17 girls final and it was the same result against the same opponent as she defeated Jetha 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 12-10).
Jetha defeated Hannah Saunders 3-1 (10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-2) in the semi-finals, while Kashyap was a 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-8) winner over Sum Monica Chang.
Ramirez Rioja had to come from 2-1 down in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals to win the Under-15 Boys’ Singles.
Theo Kniep was ahead in the quarter-finals before Ramirez Rioja came back to win 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-2, 11-7), and it was Kai Lun Chow who led the semi-final, after which his opponent triumphed 3-2 (12-10, 4-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9).
Only four games were needed in the final, as Ramirez Rioja defeated Dimitrov 3-1 (11-6, 11-5, 10-12, 11-4).
Dimitrov had previously defeated Harrison Hill 3-0 (13-11, 11-4, 11-5) in the semi-finals – he also suffered from Rishaan Sawant in the last 16 and eventually came through 3-1 (11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9).
Hill had reached the last four with victories in the fifth match over Taha Shamakh, Ryan Holland and Oscar Nikolli.
Saunders became the girls champion in the same age category, beating Senuli Ranasinghe 3-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3) in the final.
Saunders had beaten Lok Yiu Lam 3-0 (2, 8, 6) in the semi-finals, while Ranasinghe needed four to get past Amber Lemmon 3-1 (11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7).
The Under-13 Boys’ Singles was won by Dimitrov, who defeated Sai Prasanna Kumar 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9) in the final.
Dimitrov was extended in the previous two rounds and was taken to a decider before beating Malek Shamakh 3-2 (12-10, 6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7) in the quarter-finals, before defeating Lusio Wen 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-3) in the semi-finals.
Kumar eased past Li Hao Chen 3-1 (11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 11-6) in his semi-final match as the top two seeds reached the final.
Lemmon won the Under-13 Girls’ Singles with an impeccable record in the knockouts, winning 3–0 throughout and finishing with a 3–0 (13–11, 11–7, 11–7) win over Ranasinghe in the final, to whom she lost in the under-15s.
The semi-finalists were Cindy Xiao, who was defeated 8, 5, 8 by Lemmon, and Sophie Dodds, who lost 3, 6, 2 to Ranasinghe.
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