Tiago Fernandes
Dunlop's Tiago Fernandes has earned himself a memorable 17th birthday present, winning the Australian Open junior boys’ championship at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
Fernandes, overcame an early surge from Australian Sean Berman to win 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 50 minutes.
The win was Tiago's first junior Grand Slam title, his previous best result being a quarter-final finish at last year’s junior US Open.
Berman claimed the early momentum by hitting a series of quality forehand winners to break Fernandes’ serve and hold to take a 2-0 lead. However, Fernandes soon rose to the challenge, and leveled at 2-2 after breaking the Australian in a lengthy fourth game.
At 5-5, Fernandes fought off two break points against his own serve to hold and then broke Berman in the following game, claiming the set 7-5.
Fernandes made an impressive start to the second set as he raced out to a 3-0 advantage, hitting some of the best of his 27 winners through this period.
Serving for the championship at 5-3, the Brazilian managed to save three break points and eventually close out the match with an ace.
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