Sonobe becomes first Japanese player to win Australian Open girls' singles

Wakana Sonobe won her first Junior Grand Slam title, becoming the first Japanese player to capture the girls' singles crown at the Australian Open.

The No.4 seed defeated No.6 Kristina Penickova of the United States 6-0, 6-1 on Saturday in just 54 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

The left-handed Sonobe is also the first Japanese player to win any Junior Grand Slam girls' singles title since 1969, when Kazuko Sawamatsu won both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Sonobe came close last year when she finished as the US Open runner-up.

Sonobe, who turned 17 years old last week, survived a nail-biter in the first round when she squeaked past Chinese qualifier Zhang Ruien 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(8). After that, it was smooth sailing for Sonobe, who did not drop a set for the remainder of the singles tournament.

Sonobe came into the final with a 2-0 record against the 15-year-old Penickova, and she continued to have the upper hand. Sonobe used superb backhands to break Penickova three times in the first set, and the Japanese player also fended off three break points in the second game of the match.

Penickova got on the board with a hold for 2-1, but Sonobe was not derailed, saving break point in the next game, then easing to victory. Sonobe converted her first championship point with a winning volley -- her 14th winner of the match to Penickova's six.

All was not lost for Penickova, who will still head back to the States as a Junior Grand Slam champion herself. On Friday, she and her twin sister, Annika, won the Australian Open girls' doubles title, defeating No.2 seeds Emerson Jones of Australia and Hannah Klugman of Great Britain 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

The match lasted 63 minutes with the sixth-seeded Penickovas converting six of 11 break points. The American siblings dropped only one set in their run to the title.