Mika Stojsavljevic wins U.S. Open Junior girls title, becomes first British winner in 15 years

Mika Stojsavljevic is the U.S. Open Junior girls’ singles champion, becoming the first British player to win the tournament since Heather Watson in 2009.

Stojsavljevic beat No. 7 seed Wakana Sonobe 6-4, 6-4 with a hugely assured display.

She was backed by the power and accuracy of her first serve, winning 91 per cent of points played behind it, and bullying Sonobe, who she had previously beaten at last year’s Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior tournaments.

Stojsavljevic, 15, reached the final while dropping just one set. Her run included a victory over Emerson Jones of Australia, the No. 2 junior in the world, and she beat American Iva Jovic in three sets to reach the final.

Jovic, 16, shocked world No. 42 Magda Linette of Poland in the singles main draw, and came agonisingly close to knocking out Russian No. 29 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova as well. She also comfortably beat Stojsavljevic in their previous meeting in Florida, but the Briton held her nerve after Jovic recovered from losing the first set 6-0.

Stojsavljevic, born in Hammersmith, mainly developed as a player at Ealing Lawn Tennis Club in west London. She is coached by Katie O’Brien at the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) National Tennis Academy in Loughborough.

(Luke Hales/Getty Images)