Michael Antonius wins Les Petits As boys' singles title

At the prestigious Les Petits As junior tournament, American Michael Antonius followed in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal by winning the boys' singles title in Tarbes, France.

Antonius, a 6-foot eighth grader from Buffalo, N.Y., became the first American since Victor Lilov in 2018 to lift the singles trophy at the 14-and-under event. After reaching the final without losing a set and beating compatriot Tabb Tuck in the semis, he claimed the title with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 win against Spain's Izan Baranes Lasala on Sunday.

"I'm honored to win here. It's an amazing experience," said Antonius, who also joins Kim Clijsters on the list of Les Petits As champions.

"In the first set, I played OK tennis," he said of his performance in the final. "But I was able to play better in the second and third set."

Antonius, who was competing in the French tournament for the second straight year, also won the Eddie Herr boys' 14s singles title in December—one year after winning the 12s singles trophy at the same Florida event.

The American doubles duo of Izyan Ahmad and Teodor Davidov were also champions at Les Petits As, winning the doubles title with a 2-6, 6-1, 10-6 final victory over the French team of Thomas Grevoul and Quentin Dodin.