Melbourne VIC, Australia, 23 January 2018 | Val Febbo

The second round of the Australian Open junior events continued on Day 9 of the tournament, with
three members of the home contingent in singles action at Melbourne Park.

Leading the charge on the girls’ side was 16-year- old Amber Marshall, who claimed a 6-2 6-4 win
over Russia’s Alina Charaeva in 52 minutes to book her spot in the third round of a junior major on
debut.

The Australian broke twice in the first three games and raced out to a 3-0 lead before continuing
her charge and clinching the opener in just 21 minutes.

The second set was a little more difficult, with Charaeva acquiring the break in the fourth game en
route to a 4-2 lead.

Marshall then stepped into gear, breaking in the seventh game before replicating the effort two
games later to take the victory and her place in the round of 16.

The South Australian admits that she is shocked to have progressed this far but feels nothing but
elation and pride with regards to her performance.

“This is my first singles Grand Slam so to be able to make the third round is very exciting,” she
said. “It’s quite unbelievable I never thought I could win a round at a Grand Slam.

“When I won my first round I just couldn’t stop smiling and after the second round I’m even
happier.”

Marshall says when she broke back in the second set Charaeva was starting to wilt, and she
believes she was getting inside the Russian’s head.

“I thought I played a really good game to break and I think she sort of lost it,” she said. “I felt as
though I was in it again and there wasn’t much between us.”

Marshall will take on American Dalayna Hewitt in the round of 16.

In the boys’ draw, 16-year- old Stefan Storch was first up on Show Court 3 against No.1 seed
Timofey Skatov of Russia, falling to a 6-1 6-2 defeat in just under an hour.

The Russian broke in the second game of the match and while it may look as if he cruised to the
opening set, each of the next six games went to 30 or deuce.

Skatov underlined his status as the No.1 seed with his ability to perform in the key points of the
match, taking advantage of Storch’s inexperience at the junior slams.

However the Australian, with his glorious one-handed backhand, was able to show flashes of
brilliance, and despite the loss he believes there are many positives that he can take from the
match itself, and the Australian Open as a whole.

“It’s my first Grand Slam in juniors so I was quite nervous to play with a crowd, it was really nice to
have them all cheering for me,” he said.

“It was disappointing not to give them what they wanted but it was still an amazing experience to
play here,

“I wasn’t expected to win a round so I was very happy with that, to come back from a set down. I
felt I played so well.”

Under 18’s national champion Alexander Crnokrak was the third Aussie in action on Tuesday,
falling to No.14 seed Ondrej Styler 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3.

In the girls’ doubles Aussie pairing of Gabriella Da Silva Fick and Ivana Popovic recorded a straight-sets win over Hong Yi Cody Wong and Valentina Ivanov. While in the boys’ doubles, Crnokrak and compatriot Jayden court were unable to progress, falling 6-4 6-3 to third seeds Naoki Tajima and Alexey Zakharov.