South Australian Hugh Winter has booked his semifinal spot in the 16/u Australian Championships boys’ singles competition.
Melbourne, Australia, 15 December 2022 | Darren Parkin
Inclement weather has impacted play at the December Showdown at Melbourne Park this week, which meant there was a backlog of matches to play in the 16/u Australian Championships today.
A jam-packed schedule featured round of 16 and quarterfinal matches in the boys’ and girls’ singles competitions, making it a long and gruelling day for players.
Hugh Winter, a 16-year-old from South Australia, won two epic encounters to keep his title hopes alive.
The second seed needed nearly two hours to battle past Victorian Daniel Jovanovski 7-5 3-6 [10-6] in the quarterfinals.
Top seed Thomas Gadecki from Queensland is one of the title favourites – and proved why, powering into the semifinals.
“I’m 16, so I’m just enjoying it. This is such an exciting way to start the summer and I can’t wait to keep going,” Gadecki said.
> VIEW: Draws and results from the 16 and under Australian Championships
In girls’ singles action, Juliet Santitto of Queensland won back-to-back matches. But fell short in her third match of the day, losing to Audrey Aulia of New South Wales 6-3 6-1.
Santitto reflected on a long day, that stretched well into the evening.
“You have to adjust and dig deep given the challenges, and I feel I did a strong job here,” Santitto said.
“I love playing here, I think it’s my third time here at Melbourne Park now.”
Santitto models her game on former world No.1 Ash Barty.
“She had an awesome slice and a lot of variety. We should try to have a bit of her game,” she said.
Second seed Gabby Gregg ended the amazing run of Western Australia’s Sara Nikolic, who won the 14/u crown last week and swept all the way to the quarterfinals in the older age group.
And in a cliffhanger between two Victorians, it was Isabelle Crossman who shaded Bridget Mihulka 3-6 6-0 [10-7] to set up a spot in the last four.
Crossman will face another Victorian, Gabrielle Villegas, in tomorrow’s semifinals.
16 and under Australian Championships
TODAY’S RESULTS
Boys’ singles, round of 16
[1] Thomas Gadecki (Qld) d [15] Oliver James King (Qld) 6-1 6-2
[2] Hugh Winter (SA) d [16] Finley Dyer (NSW) 7-6(5) 7-6(1)
[3] Zane Stevens (Qld) d Aiden Lim Shi Feng (SA) 6-1 6-4
[4] Lachlan Mcfadzean (NSW) d [14] Diordan Macababbad (Vic) 6-4 ret.
[5] Noah Brownrigg…
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