Havlickova defeats Sierra to capture French Open junior crown

The Roland Garros girls' singles crown will stay in Czech hands for a second straight year after No.9 seed Lucie Havlickova defeated Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-3 in a 73-minute final.

Later, Havlickova added the doubles trophy to her haul, teaming up with compatriot Sara Bejlek as the No.1 seeds to defeat No.2 seeds Nikola Bartunkova and Celine Naef. The title sweep made up for the disappointment Havlickova experienced exactly one year ago, when she arrived in Paris as the first alternate to the girls' draw but failed to get in.

Havlickova, 17, is the fifth Czech winner of the title following Renata Tomanova (1972), Regina Marsikova (1975), Hana Mandlikova (1978) and Linda Noskova (2021). Noskova qualified for this year's main draw and took Emma Raducanu to three sets in the first round. Havlickova now owns a 29-6 record in junior competition this year, having also won the Criciuma Grade A tournament in February as well as reaching finals in Vrsar and Offenbach.

The result was a culmination of a battling title run for Havlickova, who came out on top of four consecutive three-setters to reach the final. In three of those - against Luca Udvardy in the second round, Joelle Steur in the third round and Sara Bejlek in the semifinals - Havlickova had to come from a break down in the third set.

By contrast, Sierra had only lost one set en route to the final, against No.4 seed Brenda Fruhvirtova in the first round. The 17-year-old was the first Argentine to reach a Grand Slam girls' singles final since Maria Emilia Salerni won the 2000 US Open.

However, Havlickova played a composed and efficient title match underpinned by excellent serving. She won 73% of the points behind her first delivery and never faced a break point. A powerful forehand backed it up, and Havlickova also excelled at net, where she won the point of the match: having been dragged forwards by a Sierra dropshot, Havlickova fended off a barrage of attempted passes before finding a winning volley to hold for 4-2 in the second set.

Sierra also impressed with several baseline winners with her back to the wall, but was undone by 35 unforced errors and three loose service games. Five double faults, including two to drop serve at the start of the second set and one facing championship point, were also a weakness.

Havlickova will have the chance to claim a Parisian double later with compatriot Bejlek. As the No.1 seeds in the doubles draw, they will take on No.2 seeds Celine Naef and Nikola Bartunkova in the final.

Both Havlickova and Sierra have already begun to make inroads into the pro circuit. Havlickova made her WTA main draw debut as a wildcard in Prague last year, falling to Anastasia Gasanova in three sets in the first round, and is currently ranked No.863. Sierra claimed her first Top 200 win over Sara Errani in the first round of the La Bisbal d'Empordà ITF W100 last month, and is now ranked No.575.

In Havlickova's words: "I feel amazing, even though I spent a million hours here on the court because I played every time three sets except today. It was very tough mentally and physically. I played a lot of three-set matches because every time something went wrong. Even in doubles, first two matches were in super tiebreaks, so it was physically really tough. But there is a good chance to recover with the ice baths and everything. So I was well prepared, even though I spent a lot of time on the court.

"Last year I was here and I was first alternate, the first girl who haven't got in. That was quite sad. But, well, here I am today.

"It's amazing to be part of the [Czech] history, but still, it's just the beginning of something. Hoping to be bigger. Hopefully it's gonna be better some day, better history, like maybe WTA champion or something."