Top seed Varvara Flink of Russia survived a tough three-set final to claim the girl’s singles title at the AGL Loy Yang ITF Traralgon Junior International.
Flink and her 10th seed opponent Fiona Ferro of France split the opening sets on Thursday morning, setting the stage for a tense finish.
In the end Flink was too good, prevailing 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.
She praised the standard of tennis in the decider.
“We both played good tennis and the third set was really good,” Flink said.
Victorian 13 year-old Destanee Aiava was knocked out by Flink in the semi-final, 6-1, 7-6(4).
The result ended a promising run for Aiava, which included eliminating two of the top eight seeds in the space of three days.
Aiava, who made her first ever ITF juniors semi-final, was one of the revelations of the tournament.
Ferro advanced to the final after another Russian, seventh seed Anastasiya Komardina, was forced to retire while a set down in their semi-final clash.
Ferro had been aiming to win her first ITF Grade 1 event.
Flink now has her sights set on making an impact at Melbourne Park during the Junior Australian Open.
“There’s great players, there’s some more extra players coming, the field’s really strong so I’m going to try to do my best,” Flink said.
*Michael DiFabrizio is a University of Wollongong journalism student.
