Photo: Peter Wyslouzil
The winners of the U14 Fischer Outdoor Junior Nationals were crowned on Sunday as the boys’ and girls’ singles finals took place at Carrefour Multisports in Laval, Quebec. It was a day to savour for British Columbia with both champions coming from Canada’s western-most province. Owen A.K. Nguyen took home the boys’ singles title while Emma Si Yu Dong won both the girls’ singles and doubles competitions.
Nguyen reached Sunday’s championship match with victories over Manitoba’s Volodymyr Gurenko 7-6(5), 6-4 in the quarter-finals and Andy Tchinda Kepche of Quebec 6-2, 6-2 in the semis. His opponent, Adam Faragcao of Alberta, overcame Loic Petrecca of Quebec 6-2, 7-5 in the quarter-finals before beating Mustafa Murtuza Raja of British Columbia 6-1, 7-6(1) in the last four. The final itself saw Nguyen beat Faragcao in straight sets 7-5, 7-5 to claim the trophy.
In girls’ singles, Si Yu Dong’s route to the final saw her beat British Columbia’s Eliana Kook 7-5, 6-2 in the quarter-finals and Clemence Mercier of Quebec 7-5, 6-0 in the semis. The other finalist, Nadia Lagaev of Ontario, had seen off the challenge of Quebec’s Dylan Gelber 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the last eight before beating Aarya Gupta – also of Ontario – 6-1, 6-4. In the final, despite winning the first set comfortably 6-0, Si Yu Dong fell 6-4 in the second set before reasserting her dominance to claim the third and deciding set 6-1.
In doubles, Nguyen was aiming to add to his singles crown by reaching the final with partner Gelan Su as the No. 3-seeded pairing. However, they lost the final to fellow British Columbia natives Raja and Eric William Wang 2-6, 6-4, [10-7]. In the girls’ doubles competition, Si Yu Dong did ensure she took home two trophies as she and partner Kook – who were the No. 2 seeds – beat Gelber and Neda Rahimkhani 6-2, 6-3 in the final.
“Well done to all of the players for their performances at the U14 Fischer Junior Nationals in Laval, Quebec,” said George Fischer, Tennis Canada donor and event funder. “Particular congratulations must go to the boys’ and girls’ singles champions Owen A.K. Nguyen and Emma Si Yu Dong respectively, as well as the boys doubles champions Mustafa Murtuza Raja and Eric William Wang and girls doubles champions Emma Si Yu Dong and Eliana Kook. Huge thanks to Tennis Canada for putting on the event in such difficult circumstances due to the impact of COVID-19.”
Click here to see all of the results.
