Kuzuhara wins Australian Open junior title as opponent collapses

[January 29, 2022] MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Top seed Bruno Kuzuhara won the Australian Open junior boys' title on Saturday, in an extraordinary conclusion to a marathon match that saw his Czech opponent Jakub Mensik collapse with cramp after match point and taken off court in a wheelchair.

Mensik won a long rally to make it 30-30 at 5-6 in the third and concluding set, but he was barely able to stand following that exchange and hit two consecutive double faults to hand victory to the American, who prevailed 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 7-5 in just under four hours.

"First of all, it's an unfortunate way to win it," said Kuzuhara in an-court interview. "I'm wishing Jakub a speedy recovery. It was a great fight. We pushed each other right until the end. Great match, if you're watching inside. Thanks man."

The 17-year-old Kuzuhara walked across the court to check on Mensik after the final point before officials arrived with a wheelchair to escort him off for treatment.

In the girls' singles final, Croatian top seed Petra Marcinko secured her first major title with a 7-5 6-1 win over Belgium's Sofia Costoulas.

(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru; editing by John Stonestreet)

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