Jodar Faces Third Straight Slam Champion, Meets Wimbledon Winner Budkov Kjaer in US Open Boys Final; Sonobe Takes on Surprise Finalist Stojsavljevic For Girls Title; Cooper Wins Junior Wheelchair Title

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Flushing Meadows NY--

A US Open Junior Championships with the year's previous three slam champions is rare enough. Beating all three in successive days would be unprecedented, yet that's what Rafael Jodar of Spain has in his sights in Saturday's boys final against top seed and Wimbledon champion Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, after taking out Australian Open champion and No. 3 seed Rei Sakamoto of Japan 6-3, 6-1 in Friday's semifinals.

Jodar, seeded No. 12, had beaten No. 2 seed and Roland Garros champion Kaylan Bigun of the United States 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-5 in the quarterfinals Thursday, but the soon-to-be 18-year-old from Madrid said he felt no aftereffects from the two-hour and 22-minute contest.

"When I woke up this morning, I was feeling good," said Jodar, who is scheduled to enroll at the University of Virginia in January. "I was so excited to play, the semifinal of US Open, and I was prepared. I didn't have any pain."

Jodar took a 4-2 lead in the first match between the two, but Sakamoto got the break back, only to lose his next service game, giving Jodar control of the match. Sakamoto, who counts on his serve to give him free points and set up his aggressive first-strike game, dropped serve two more times to open the second set, with Jodar having no trouble attacking despite Sakamoto making 76 percent of his first serves.  

Jodar, who made 77 percent of his first serves, was pleased with his level in all facets of his game.

"I thought he would serve very well, so I had to return very well," said Jodar, who trains at the BTT Academy in Barcelona. "Also I had to be aggressive when I could. But I'm very happy with my level. I played very very well today, feeling the ball very good."

Jodar, whose best finish at a slam prior to this week was a  Wimbledon quarterfinal, began to believe he could compete with the very top juniors at Roland Garros, where he lost to No. 2 seed Joel Schwaerzler of Austria in the third round.

"In this type of tournament, I see that I can compete against them," said Jodar, who won two ITF J300s last year, and two more this summer, at Roehampton and College Park. "Sometimes I lost, sometimes I win, but the point is I am competing in all the points against them, I am there all the time."

Jodar cannot match the experience of going deep in a slam that recent his opponents have had, but that doesn't concern him. "I think it's going to be another match," said Jodar, who has gone 7-0 in finals since last February. "Of course it's going to be a final, so maybe I'll be more nervous, but I have to play my game and believe in myself."

Budkov Kjaer defeated unseeded Charlie Robertson of Great Britain, who hadn't lost a set until coming up against Budkov Kjaer, 6-3, 6-3 

Although he fell behind 4-1 in the second set, Robertson made Budkov Kjaer earn the victory, with three long deuce games from 4-2, with Budkov Kjaer finally converting his fourth match point.

Budkov Kjaer has had his share of tough matches this week, particularly his 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win over Luca Preda of Romania in the quarterfinals, but he is happy with how his game is rounding into form as he approaches his second straight junior slam final.

"It's of course extremely cool," said the 18-year-old, who will join Casper Ruud next week for Norway's Davis Cup tie with Portugal. "I'm very delighted that I'm able to do it, and very happy that I've managed to keep my level for two tournaments in a row. I didn't feel I had the need to play any warmup tournaments and was very confident coming into the tournament that I was ready to make some damage to my opponents."

Budkov Kjaer will be the first Norwegian boy to capture a US Open title if he beats Jodar Saturday, and the first boy to win those two slam titles in the same year since Filip Peliwo (then of Canada, now representing Poland) won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2012. Spain has been the home country of two of the last three US Open boys champions, with Daniel Rincon winning in 2021 and Martin Landaluce in 2022.

History could be made Saturday in the girls final with No. 7 seed Wakana Sonobe seeking Japan's first girls junior slam championship in singles. Sonobe defeated No. 8 seed Mimi Xu of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4, getting a late break in each set.

Sonobe, a 16-year-old left-hander who has been training at the IMG Academy in Bradenton for over two years, lost in the third round at last week's ITF J300 warmup event in Canada, but she has found her form this week, reaching her first junior slam quarterfinal, semifinal and now final, without dropping a set.

Sonobe has won her three biggest tournaments on clay, but she couldn't offer an explanation as to why her best slam result would come on the fast hard courts here. Sonobe, who does not communicate in English, has improved her fitness, according to Masashi Yoshikawa, a Japanese federation coach.

"She's working every point," said Yoshikawa. "Her physical level is improved, which is a reason she's playing very good right now. And mentally she's very strong, to keep doing what she wants to do."

Australian Open champion Sakamoto, who has been training at IMG under the same Morita Foundation program that benefits select Japanese players at the Academy, said he won't be giving her any advice on playing a slam final.

"I won't say anything, just let her do her thing," Sakamoto said with a laugh. "I don't deserve to advise her, I lost in semis and she's in final."

Sakamoto and Sonobe are now sharing Morita Foundation coach Ryuji Hirooka, who has long been coaching Sonobe, but is now stepping in to help Sakamoto, who is currently seeking a new coach. As for his opinion of his friend's junior career, Sakamoto noted how hot and cold it has been in previous years. 

"I feel like when she plays a tournament, she either loses in the first round or wins the tournament," said Sakamoto. "I think here she got used to the surface and everything, so I think she's got this one."

Last year's girls champion Katherine Hui of the United States was an unseeded wild card, so unseeded Mika Stojsavljevic's appearance in the final isn't all that unusual, but the level of tennis the 15-year-old from Great Britain played in the first set of her 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 victory No. 3 seed Iva Jovic of the United States was rare indeed. 

Hitting 12 winners and making just four unforced errors, two of which were double faults, Stojsavljevic's ground strokes and first serve were leaving Jovic without any options for any offensive play of her own. 

"I think I was playing my tennis, honestly, going for my balls, confident and calm," said the 6-foot Stojsavljevic, who agreed it was the best set of tennis that she has played. 

All the unforced errors Stojsavljevic avoided in the first set appeared in the second, and Jovic took full advantage of her opportunity. Stojsavljevic got back on track in the third set, hitting four of her nine aces, getting the crucial break with Jovic serving at 2-3. Up 30-0 in that game, Jovic didn't win another point, double faulting at 30-all and making a backhand unforced error on break point.

Stojsavljevic didn't show any nerves in her final two service games and broke Jovic at love to become the first British girl in a junior slam final since Katie Swan lost in the Australian Open final in 2015.

"I just started to go for my balls again, not being passive, not waiting for her to give me the opportunity," said Stojsavljevic, whose quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon in 2023 was her best junior slam performance before this week. "I was going and taking it, and I think that made a big difference."

Sonobe and Stojsavljevic played twice last year in the first round of junior slams, with Stojsavljevic winning at Wimbledon 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 and at the US Open 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The doubles finals are set for Saturday, with three unseeded teams and a No. 1 seed still in the running for a junior slam title.

The two unseeded teams competing in the girls final are Emily Sartz-Lunde of Norway and Malak El Allami of Morocco against one of the best doubles teams on the junior circuit this year, who haven't been seeded, Julie Pastikova of the Czech Republic and Julia Stusek of Germany. Pastikova and Stusek, who reached the Australian Open doubles final this year and the semifinals at Wimbledon, defeated No. 7 seeds Hannah Klugman of Great Britain and Joy DeZeeuw of the Netherlands 1-6, 6-0, 10-5.

Sartz-Lunde, a freshman at Michigan and El Allami, a freshman at Columbia, defeated unseeded Tereza Krejcova and Eliska Tichackova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4.

Top seeds in the boys doubles, Sakamoto and Maxim Mrva of the Czech Republic, defeated No. 3 seeds Budkov Kjaer and Henry Bernet of Switzerland 7-5, 6-3 to set up a meeting with surprise finalists Denis Petak of the Czech Republic and Flynn Thomas of Switzerland. Petak and Thomas, both of whom were qualifiers in singles, defeated No. 4 seeds Thomas Faurel of France and Luca Preda of Romania 6-3, 7-5.

There is a 100 percent chance of rain on Saturday. Whether it will hold off long enough to finish the four finals, all scheduled for noon, is the question. 

The Tennis Channel highlight show from this year's USTA Billie Jean King Girls 18s and 16s National Championships in San Diego will debut Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. I have not previewed it, but am told it also has footage from this year's Nationals in Kalamazoo. 

The Junior Wheelchair championships concluded today, with unseeded American Charlie Cooper winning the boys singles title with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over No. 2 seed Ivar van Rijt of the Netherlands.  No. 2 seed Yuma Takamuro of Japan won the girls singles title, beating top seed Vitoria Miranda of Brazil 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.  For more on the Junior Wheelchair championships, see this article from usopen.org.