Australia’s Sean Berman will contest the Australian Open junior boys’ final following his 7-6(5) 6-3 win over sixth seed Marton Fucsovics of Hungary on Friday.
Berman, the third Australian in four years to make the final, will meet 14th seed Tiago Fernandes of Brazil, who gave himself a perfect 17th birthday present in producing a comeback to upset second seed Gianni Mina of France 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2.
Seventeen-year-old wildcard Berman, who lists Lleyton Hewitt as his favourite player, emulated his tennis hero to come from behind three times during the first set to clinch it in a close tie-breaker.
Fucsovics, also 17, got the first break of the match in the fourth game, but Berman made him work for it, saving three break points before the Hungarian prevailed.
Berman’s deceptive forehand was a key weapon for the South African-born New Zealand-raised player, who recently became Australian after his family moved to his mother’s home town of Melbourne.
Berman got the break-back immediately as Fucsovics’ serve began to look vulnerable, and the Hungarian double-faulted to hand back the break and level the score at 3-3.
Fucsovics was on track to take the first set when he again broke Berman’s serve again to lead 5-3, but he couldn’t serve it out, and another double-fault gave Berman a break opportunity. Berman converted the break and pushed the set into a tie-break.
In the breaker, Fucsovics raced away to a 5-1 lead, but Berman again mounted a comeback, winning six straight points to claim the tie-break 7-5 and take the first set.
In the second, Berman was the aggressor, breaking Fucsovics in his first service game and taking a 3-0 lead.
At 5-3, Berman stepped up to serve for the match, and nerves almost got the better of him as it took him four match points before he could close out the win.
There was very little between the two semi-finalists, as Berman won 78 points compared to Fucsovics’ 71, but the Hungarian’s serve let him down badly at critical times.
“It’s unbelievable to … make the finals of the Australian Open,” Berman said after the match.
“I trained very, very hard in the off-season for about three and four weeks, and I guess it’s paying off now.”
Berman, who will move to Canberra later this year to take up an AIS scholarship, would love to take the title for his new country in his maiden Grand Slam.
Berman’s opponent in tomorrow’s final, Fernandes, is no stranger to junior Grand Slam tournaments, having made the quarter-finals at the US Open last year.
Fernandes lost the first set to his higher-ranked opponent, but took the early break in the second to lead 4-2.
The Brazilian saved a break at 5-3 and yelled encouragement to himself, but when he tried to serve out the set at 5-4, Mina rallied, mixing up his game with the forehand slice to level the match at 5-5.
The second set went to a tie-break, and Mina took the upper hand, gaining a 5-2 lead. The Brazilian then clawed his way back with some big serves and forehand winners to take the breaker 7-5.
With the momentum of winning the second set, Fernandes took the early break in Mina’s first service game. He maintained his lead to close out the set 6-2 with a down-the-line winner and an emotive “Vamos!”
“I started a bit nervous and he (Mina) started very good, but the second set I came back,” Fernandes said after the match.
“I started (to hit) confident balls and started to serve a little bit better, so in the second and third set I played much better.”
Tomorrow’s final at Rod Laver Arena will be in the biggest stadium Fernandes has played in, but it is one he is very much looking forward to.
“It’s a Grand Slam and … I am very happy to be in the finals and I hope to enjoy (the) Rod Laver final,” Fernandes said.
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