Blockx, Korneeva win Australian Open junior titles

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Alexander Blockx of Belgium beat American Learner Tien 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (9) to win the junior boys championship at the Australian Open on Saturday.

“It was one of my hardest battles of my life,” the 17-year-old Blockx said.

In the junior girls singles final, ninth-seeded Alina Korneeva beat seventh-seeded Mirra Andreeva 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-5 in a 3-hour, 18-minute baseline duel between the 15-year-old Russian doubles partners.

“It’s not our last battle,” Korneeva said during the trophy presentations. “We will have a lot of good matches."

In the junior girls doubles final, Renata Jamrichova of Slovakia and Federica Urgesi of Italy beat Japan’s Hayu Kinoshita and Sara Saito 7-6 (5), 1-6, 10-7.

Tien paired with fellow American Cooper Williams to beat Blockx and Brazilian Joao Fonseca 6-4, 6-4 in the junior boys doubles final on Friday.

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