By IANS,
Melbourne : Delhi boy Yuki Bhambri Saturday created history by becoming the first Indian to win the junior Australian Open title, beating Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas of Germany 6-3, 6-1 in the final here.
Yuki follows in the footsteps of Indian tennis greats Ramanathan, Ramesh Krishnan and Leander Paes to win a junior Grand Slam.
Ramanathan Krishnan won the Wimbledon junior title in 1954, the first Asian player to achieve the feat. His son Ramesh carried on the legacy to win the junior titles at French Open and Wimbledon in 1979.
Paes was the last Indian to win a junior Grand Slam when he won the Wimbledon Boy’s title in 1990 and the US Open in 1991 as a 17-year-old.
Sixteen-year-old Yuki came into the Australian Open as the top seed, having reached the semi-final here last year.
Yuki has been performing exceptionally in the international circuit. His best show so far has been the title win at the Orange Bowl in Key Biscayne in the US, considered to be the fifth Grand Slam, besides the Osaka Mayor’s Cup in October. It catapulted him to No. 2 in World junior rankings.
However, Yuki’s doubles campaign ended in semi-final after he and his Taipei partner Liang Chi-Huang lost 3-6, 1-6 to Russia’s Mikhal Biryukov and Japanese Yasutaka Uchiyama Friday.
Yuki honed his skills at the famous Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy in the USA. He is coached by Aditya Sachdeva, who accompanied him to Melbourne.