There’s a new name to wrap our tongues around – 15-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic, who became the first Briton in 15 years to win the US Open girls junior singles title at the weekend. I think I’m still in a little bit of shock, I haven’t had much time to process it yet. I think it was a really good match. She [Sonobe] played really well, I think we both stepped up our level in the second set. I think it was not something I expected, but I’m super happy.
Born in Hammersmith, Stojsavljevic is the youngest junior champion at the event since 2006, when the trophy went to 15-year-old Russian prodigy Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has since reached the final of the French Open.
With a Serbian father from Velika Popina in Croatia, and a Polish mother from Warsaw, Stojsavljevic was raised in Ealing, where she attended St Benedict’s School, and now trains at the LTA national academy in Loughborough.
Ranked 36 among the juniors, her run in New York was impressive, where she not only won the junior singles title, taking down 3 seeded players on the way, but she also reached the quarter-finals of the girls doubles.
Final: d Wakana Sonobe (JPN, junior world No 10 / seeded 7), 6-4 6-4
Semi-final: d Iva Jovic (USA, junior world No 5 / seeded 3), 6-0 3-6 6-3
Quarter-final: d Annika Penickova (USA, junior world No 91), 6-2 7-6(3)
3rd round: d Emerson Jones (AUS, junior world No 2 / seeded 1), 7-5 6-4
2nd-round: d Kaitlyn Rolls (USA, junior world No 17), 6-1 6-0
1st-round: d Charo Esquiva Banuls (ESP, junior world No 48), 6-7(5) 6-2 6-2
In the singles, the only set she dropped was against 16-year-old Jovic, who upset Magda Linette in the 1st-round of the main draw as a wild-card before stretching No 29 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to 3 sets. The American was the heavy favourite to progress to the final, but the Londoner stunned her with her 3-sets win.
Standing 6ft tall, with size 10 shoes, Stojsavljevic cuts an imposing figure, which she uses to bully the ball, and she came away with 9 aces and 36 clean winners, while the overpowered Jovic managed just 6 winners.
It was only a brief loss of focus in the second set, when Stojsavljevic hit 3 successive double-faults to give up a break, that extended matters into 3 sets.
“It would be incredible,” she said ahead of the final. “But I’ve still got to win tomorrow, and take every point at a time. I think I was just playing my tennis, honestly. I think I was just going for my balls, confident and calm.
“It feels amazing, I didn’t really expect it, but I’m super, super happy to be in the final.”
