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US Open boys' champion Grigor Dimitrov
© Getty Images
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US Open boys' runner-up Devin Britton
© Getty Images
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Devin Britton of Jackson, Miss., had one of the most surprising and spectacular runs in the history of the US Open junior tournament. But in the final, it was the more experienced and polished Grigor Dimitrov, the No. 3 seed from Bulgaria, who prevailed, winning his second Grand Slam junior title of the year in front of an impressive turnout of fans on Court 11. Dimitrov, who also won the Wimbledon junior boys' title in July, used his steadier baseline game and his speed to secure three breaks in the match for a 6-4, 6-3 win.
“Devin gave me a hard time in the first set and especially in the beginning of the second,’’ said Dimitrov, who credited his experience playing the final of Wimbledon for playing confident and feeling relaxed today. “But I found a way to manage my game, and that was the key.’’
Dimitrov, who is just 17, said the Open final would be his last match in the juniors, as he turns his sights on the pro game.
“It was an important match for me because I wanted to end up [my junior career] in the right way,’’ he said.
Britton was part of an impressive run here for American juniors that included Coco Vandeweghe of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., who won the junior girls' title.
Just by reaching the final, Britton had put together one of the more impressive and unexpected runs seen in the junior tournament. He had to qualify to get into the main draw and then upset the No. 2 seed, Tomic Bernhard of Australia, in the first round. The 17-year-old American, who won the International Grass Court Championships in Philadelphia in June, was playing in just his second Grand Slam junior event of the year, having also qualified for the Wimbledon juniors in July, where he lost in the first round.
“Would've been nice to win today,” said Britton, “but just to get to the finals, it's... I was definitely happy with my tournament.’’
The match featured the classic modern pro-style game of Dimitrov—big groundstrokes from the baseline—vs. the unique, relentless net-rushing of Britton, who comes in behind both first and second serves and has some of the most outstanding volleys of any junior player in a long time. But on serve in the first set, with Britton serving at 4-5, Britton’s game dipped slightly. Dimitrov ripped a forehand return to force a volley error on the first point, but then Britton double faulted twice and missed a forehand volley, giving the game and the first set to the No. 3 seed.
Britton put up a challenge in the second, breaking the Bulgarian in the third game to go up, 2-1. But Dimitrov showed his strengths at that point in the form of some serious speed and shot-making ability. In the next game, at 15-30, Britton came in behind a serve and hit a brilliant half-volley drop shop, one of many he managed in the match. But this time, Dimitrov chased it down and, just reaching it, managed a perfectly angled cross-court shot that, despite being at net, Britton couldn’t reach. Then, at ad-out, Britton hit a tough first volley cross court that again looked safely offensive enough. But Dimitrov motored to get to it, whipping a cross-court passing shot, evening things up at 2-2.
From that point on, Britton didn’t appear to have the groundstrokes or the patience to overcome his opponent’s solid backhand and big forehand.
While Britton lost, his refreshing, attacking game style proved effective.
“His game style presents a lot of problems for guys because when you are serving that well and holding fairly easily, it puts a lot of pressure on the other guys,’’ said David DiLucia, USTA coach who was watching the match and who has worked on a limited basis with Britton. “He just needs to get a little better mixing it up, particularly against a player like Dimitrov, and cutting down the loose errors.”
Britton, who said the key to his run here was the confidence he gained after qualifying and then upsetting the No. 2 seed, is a senior in high school but hopes to graduate early and attend the University of Mississippi in the spring.
“You see a lot of the guys going to college now,’’ he said. “I have no ATP ranking right now. It's just smarter to go for a year or two to see how that goes. I mean, there's really good competition in college. I can just improve my game and come out of that stronger.”
Dimitrov, who has been training with Pato Alvarez in Barcelona, the same coach who helped to mold Andy Murray’s game, says his goal is to reach the top 10 in the world. This victory certainly bodes well for his chances. Former US Open boys' champions include Andy Murray (2004), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2003) and Andy Roddick (2000).