(by Steve Hopkins)

Maciej Kubik, Oh Junsung, Nicole Arlia, Miwa Harimoto, and Amelie Jia were just some of the top ranked players to compete in their events in Germany this week at the WTT Youth Contender Berlin. Events included U19, U17, U15, U13, and U11.

In the U19 Boys event, Maciej Kubik was the top seed.  Kubik played last season for Ochsenhausen, so American fans who follow Kanak Jha may have seen him compete.  Kubik won his first match, but then fell to Korea’s Park Changgeon in the Round of 16. Park fell in the Semis to another Korean player, Oh Junsung.  And it was Junsung that went on to win the event, with a 3-1 win over Japan’s Sora Matsushima.

The Girls U19 will be played on Sunday.  Italy’s Nicola Arlia is the top seed and Japan’s 13 year old phenom Miwa Harimoto is the second seed.  These two were the top two seeds in the U17 Girls event as well, and it was Harimoto that won the event (and Arlia fell in the Quarterfinals to another Japanese player, Sachi Aoki.  The other girls events are set to be played tomorrow.

Japan dominated the U17 Boys event, with Matsushima beating Yoshiyama in the Final.  Yoshiyama also reached the Final in the U15 Boys event, where he topped Czech Republic’s Jindrick Moravek 3-0.  Two Puerto Rican players were the top seeds in the U13 Boys event, but Enrique Rios and Steven Moreno each met the same fate – tight losses in the Round of 16.  In the end, it was Korea’s Lee Seungsoo over Japan’s Ryuusei Kawakami 3-2 in the Final.

More action is scheduled for Sunday, so tune in for more updates.

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