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1997-1998 Juniors: Wiersholm, Nava, Kozlov, Tiafoe, Mmoh, Blumberg, Ponwith, etc.

158K views 1K replies 25 participants last post by  SHB 
#1 ·
I decided to create another junior thread after all. It will easier to keep track of different age groups this way.

For fun - Who will be the next big shot from the 1997-1998 Group?




Henrik Wiersholm
03-27-1997 (14 years old)
Notable Accomplishments:
2012 ITF Copa Gatorade Champion (Impressive run :bowdown: , playing in only his 2nd ITF Tourny)
2011 Les Petits As Champion
2011 AEGON Junior International Finalist



Eduardo Nava
03-11-1997 (14 years old)
Notable Accomplishments:
2011 NIKE Junior Tour USA Masters Finalist
2011 Les Petits As Quarterfinalist
2011 AEGON Junior International Quarterfinalist



Stefan Kozlov
02-01-1998 (14 years old)
Notable Accomplishments:
Youngest player in the top 150 ITF Junior Ranking :yeah:
2011 ITF Waco Champion
2011 Junior Orange Bowl Finalist
2011 AEGON Junior International Champion



Francis Tiafoe
01-20-1998 (14 years old)
Notable Accomplishments:
2012 Les Petits As Champion (Impressive run :bowdown:)
2012 AEGON Junior International Champion



Michael Mmoh
01-10-1998 (14 years old)
Notable Accomplishments:
2012 AEGON Junior International Finalist
2012 Les Petits As Semifinalist
2011 VRSA Summer Cup Champion



William Blumberg
01-26-1998 (14 years old)
Notable Accomplishments:
2012 USTA National Open Finalist
2012 Les Petits As Finalist
2012 AEGON Junior International Quarterfinalist



Nathan Ponwith
04-28-1998 (13 years old)
Notable Accomplishments:
2012 Les Petits As Semifinalist
2012 AEGON Junior International Semifinalist
2011 USTA National Open Champion
 
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#84 ·
Mmoh is in the QF in Tunisia. Based on his scorelines I think he is a fairly big underdog. Hope he pulls the upset.

Stefan won his first match in Roehampton qualies in 3 sets. Next match will be tough as it is up against a guy that beat him 6-1 6-1 a few months ago. I'm not sure if they played outside or indoors on hard today but the forecast looks bad for tomorrow and I have a feeling they may be playing inside. Hopefully Stefan can get some revenge.
Thai is also in the final round of qualies here.

Good luck boys.
 
#88 ·
Some updates:

Kozlov

Stefan lost 16 57 in the 2nd round to Frederico Ferreira SILVA (POR) [15]

Wimbledon Qualifying Section:
Temur ISMAILOV (UZB) [1] - Ricky MEDINILLA (MEX)
Jonathan CORNISH (GBR) (WC) - Stefan KOZLOV (USA) [11]

Wiersholm

Junkanoo Bowl - G4 - Hardcourt

vs fellow 1997 compatriot Tommy Paul in the 2nd round. For some reason, the name stands out to me. Did Paul upset somebody at the Junior Orange Bowl? Can't remember and too lazy to look it up at this time though :p.

Mmoh

12th Carthago Cup - Tunisia - G4 - Clay

Through to the quarterfinal.

Good luck guys :)
 
#99 · (Edited)
My first thought was is he too young? I understand he's doing exceptional things but he's so young and smaller/weaker than the older juniors that it doesn't seem very helpful for Baker. But a great experience for Kozlov! and frankly I care more about Kozlov's growth than I do Baker's so I'm glad he's getting this opportunity. Just sort of an odd choice in my opinion.
 
#103 ·
Have you seen his stats?http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/stats/day15/6118ms.html
6 aces total, 4 more than his opponent. And 28 winners to only 16 errors (although wimbledon is very lenient on the errors stat). He also frequented and did fairly well at the net. Very very impressive considering his age, lack of size, and his opponent is currently ranked 19 in the itf.

I'm not trying to discredit this win, but does anyone know if the opponent was more of a clay-courter than a hard-grass courter?
 
#104 ·
Well according to Masur's ITF Profile, almost all of his points are from clay. But the win is still impressive and his stats are great. Stefan is a good returner so it is not surprising that there are not many aces. Stefan is also a good doubles player and I'm glad to see the netgame translates well into singles. He could teach Rubin and Donaldson a thing or two about doubles :p.
 
#105 ·
http://tenniskalamazoo.blogspot.com/2012/07/fourteen-year-old-stefan-kozlov-wins-in.html

Kozlov needed a bit more time to take out 17-year-old Daniel Masur of Germany 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. The 14-year-old qualifier was up 5-2 in the first set, had two set points with Masur serving at 3-5, but couldn't close out the first set against the world's 19th-ranked junior.

"The first couple of games were pretty rough, I was kind of nervous," said Kozlov, the youngest player in the draw by more than a year. "Not nervous where I couldn't play, but throughout the whole first set I was kind of nervous. I played well until 5-2, then kind of gave it up."

Kozlov, who says people have told him he plays like 19-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic, broke Masur to open the second set.

"It was tough," Kozlov said. "It's a good thing I broke the first game, because otherwise it would have been hard. But I just stopped thinking about it, and played like I wasn't going to lose."

In the third set, Kozlov again got an early break and coasted to the win. With his variety and his ability to change pace and direction when least expected, Kozlov thinks the surface is a good one for him.

"I feel pretty comfortable on it," said Kozlov, who qualified and won a round at the Roehampton Grade 1 last week. "My serve kind of joins the grass, and I feel very comfortable on it, let's put it that way."

Kozlov's father Andrei, who runs a tennis academy in Pembroke Pines, Florida, arrived at the All England Club from Florida this morning, but he didn't make the trip solely to see his son play his first match in the shadow of Wimbledon's Centre Court.

"He's coaching Camila Giorgi," Kozlov said of the 20-year-old Italian qualifier who lost in the fourth round to No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska today. "He helps her out a lot and I usually hit with her a lot when I'm home."
No wonder Kozlov improves so quickly. He practices with a pretty good WTA pro when they're together.
 
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