Noppawan Lertcheewakarn erased memories of 12 months ago by winning the Wimbledon girls' title on Saturday.
Thai starlet lands first major title
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn erased memories of losing to Laura Robson in the Wimbledon final 12 months ago by winning the girls' title on Saturday.
The 17-year-old Thai player beat 16-year-old top seed Kristina Mladenovic of France 3-6 6-3 6-1.
The Chiang Mai fourth seed had finished runner-up to Robson in the 2008 final, but she went one better this time round recovering from a set down to overcome the French Open champion in the one hour and 43 minutes contest on Court One.
The Thai player finished last season as the world number one and began her Grand Slam year with a semi-final placing at the Australian Open before a disappointing second round exit at Roland Garros.
Overpowered
Noppawan was overpowered in the first set with the French 16-year-old sending down serves of up to 122mph.
Mladenovic fired down five aces and 15 winners with two breaks in the opening set. In contrast, the Thai girl was serving around 85mph and struggling to keep up with the pace.
But Noppawan is regarded as one of the best returners in the junior game and she clawed her way back into the final and levelled the tie as her first set percentage also rose.
Mladenovic's backhand then began to falter and she slipped to a 4-0 deficit in the decider before her afternoon got worse when the trainer was required to treat a knee injury and it was not long until Noppawan was celebrating victory.
British junior hope Robson was knocked out in the third round this year, after the 15-year-old struggled with a back problem in her match against Holland's Quirine Lemoine.
