Oceania Closed Junior Championships (OCJC)

2020

There was no event held due to Covid-19

2019

The 2019 Oceania Closed Junior Championships were held in Lautoka, Fiji, in the second week of August. There were some changes to the structure of the tournament, the first major change since it started in 2002. A 16 draw qualifying event was offered and the consolation events were optional allowing players to leave as soon as they were out of the tournament. The doubles draw was also increased in size so that any players who lost in qualifying could still play main draw doubles. In the end there were 11 boys who played qualifying to take the four spots in main draw, and no girls qualifying because of large number of late withdrawals from the girl’s main draw.

The events were dominated by Australian players who won all four titles. The boy’s singles was won by second seed Stefan Storch who beat Cihan Akay (3) in an excellent three set final. Akay went on to win the boys doubles with Nikita Volonski in a straight sets demolition of Tai Sach and the only non-Australian on finals day Matthew Shearer (NZL).

The big day for the girl’s singles was semi-finals day where the top two seeds were edged out in three sets. Firstly, top seed Carol Lee (NMI) was upset by third seed Talia Gibson (AUS) and then seventh seed Amy Stevens overcame second seed and fellow Australian Natasha Russell in a marathon battle. The final saw Stevens continue her excellent form from earlier rounds beating Gibson 6-3 6-3 to take the title. The girls doubles final went to a match tiebreak with unseeded Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and Elena Micic edging top seeds Roopa Bains and Natasha Russell 10-5 in the decider.

There were some good performances from other Pacific players with Saoirse Breen (FIJ) reaching the girl’s singles quarter-finals and Leylani Ipunesso (CAL) winning a round in singles and combining with Carolann Delaunay (CAL) to reach the doubles quarterfinals.

2018

Australian players dominated the 2018 Oceania Closed Junior Championships claiming both singles titles, the boy’s doubles and a share of the girl’s doubles.

Rinky Hijikata (AUS), ranked in the world’s top 40, was too strong for all the opposition winning the boys singles in convincing fashion over Tristan Schoolkate, the sixth seed 6-2 6-4. Hijikata was not overly tested in any of his matches going through without conceding a set. Schoolkate had a very good tournament taking out the second seed and defending champion Dane Sweeny in the quarterfinals and Stefan Storch the fourth seed in the semis. So dominant were the Australian boys that they filled all eight places in the quarterfinals.

There were a number of upsets in the girl’s singles. Top seed Valentina Ivanov (NZL) was well beaten by Amber Marshall (AUS) in the semifinals and fifteen year old Annerly Poulos (AUS) made it through to the semifinals with a great win over second seed Megan Smith (AUS) who was a finalist in 2017. Fourth seed Carol Lee (NMI) had a great run through to the finals beating Poulos in a very tight match which went to a third set tiebreaker. Marshall however was too strong in the final beating Lee 6-1 6-4 to take the girls singles title.

Ivanov and Marshall defended their girls doubles title winning 6-3 3-6 (10-5) over the Australian second seeds Grace Schumacher and Megan Smith. Rinky Hijikata claimed his second boys doubles title, this time with Ken Cavrak taking the match 6-4 6-3 over Nikita Volonski and Cihan Akay in an all Australian final.

A full complement of consolation matches were played to give all players a minimum of three singles matches. On Saturday after the singles finals a mixed doubles competition was played and the final was won by Chiarra Di Tommaso (AUS) and Robbie Schorr (NMI).

The weather was fine and hot all week ensuring no delays to the program. Tennis Fiji did a great job organising the event and put on a dinner for all participants on the Saturday night at which the trophy presentations took place.

2017

Papua New Guinea’s Violet Apisah defended her singles title at the 2017 Oceania Closed Junior Championships, ITF Junior Circuit B2 event, held in Lautoka from the 7th-11th August. Australian based Apisah won the singles for the second time but with sister Patricia was beaten in the doubles final. Violet was totally dominant, not conceding a set in any of her singles matches on the way to beating Megan Smith (AUS) 63 61 in the final.

Unseeded Australian Dane Sweeny was the giant killer in the Boy’s Singles. In the quarterfinals he beat top seed Finn Reynolds (NZL) in three sets and then followed it up with a three set win over Campbell Salmon, seeded 3, in the semi-finals. In the other half of the draw Ken Cavrak (AUS) the fourth seed upset New Zealand’s second seed Ajeet Rai to reach the final. On the hottest day of the week Sweeny and Cavrak battled for more than two hours, with both players virtually exhausted by the end. Eventually it was Sweeny who came through to win 57 75 75 in a thrilling encounter.

The Boy’s Doubles was not played, resulting in a walkover to Rinky Hijikata (AUS) and Finn Reynolds (NZL) , with Ken Cravak unable to play after his exhausting singles match. The girls doubles was won by Valentina Ivanov (NZL) and Amber Marshall (AUS) who beat the Apisah sisters in a very close month 62 16 (10-4)

The tournament was blessed with good weather throughout so a full schedule of consolation matches was played, giving everyone at least three singles matches. On the last day there was a one day mixed doubles competition for those not in main draw finals. It was won by Finley Hall (NZL) partnering Carol Lee from NMI.

2016

Papua New Guinea born Violet Apisah was the star of the Girls events at the 2016 Oceania Closed Junior Championships, ITF Junior Circuit B2 event, held in Lautoka in the second week of August. Australian based Apisah won both the singles and doubles titles.

Violet Apisah

Persistent heavy rain for three days from the practice day meant the tournament did not get underway until 10am on day three. This meant the early round singles matches had to be reduced to short sets with players playing multiple matches each day, including the singles quarterfinals and semi-finals on the same day played over two sets and a match tie-break.

In the semi-finals Apisah had a very tough match against 6th seed Australian Jessica Zaviacic recovering from a 5-7 loss in the first set to take the second set 6-3 and the match tiebreak 10-6. Her opponent in the final, second seed Kaitlin Staines, had an equally tough semi before beating Lisa Mays 7-6(4) 5-7 10-8 in over two hours. The final between the two top seeds was the only singles match played over the full three sets in the tournament. Both players held serve right through the first set but Staines powerful serve carried her through the tiebreak 7-4 to take the first set. Violet Apisah rallied strongly in the second set breaking serve once to take the set 6-4 and repeated the effort in the third for a 6-7 6-4 6-4 victory in over two and a half hours.

Apisah then returned to the court with her partner Petra Hule to win their doubles semifinal in straight sets and then beat Staines and Jessica Zaviacic 6-2 6-2 in the final.

Boys 3rd seed Adam Walton ensured there would be an all Australian Boy’s singles final when he comprehensively beat second seed Ajeet Rai (NZL) 6-3 6-1 in the semi-finals. His opponent in the final was top seed Moerani Bouzige. Walton used his great consistency to never give Bouzige a look-in taking the match 6-4 6-2.

The Boys Doubles was an all Australian affair with Benard Nkomba and Kody Pearson upsetting the second seeds Adam Walton and Thomas Bosancic 5-7 6-3 (10-6) in a thrilling encounter. Due to the bad weather none of the consolation events were completed and the mixed doubles was not held.

2015: FIJI-AUGUST 2015

Australians dominated the 14th Annual Oceania Closed Junior Championships played on the newly resurfaced courts at the Regional Tennis Centre in Lautoka in the first week of August. Blake Ellis, a member of the Australian Junior Davis Cup team in 2015, was un-seeded in the Boy’s singles but went right through the draw without dropping a set to take the title. In the final he played compatriot and top seed Scott Jones to win easily 6-2 6-3. Ellis also combined with Jones to claim the Boy’s Doubles over 4th seeded Australian pairing of Moerani Bouzige and Matthew Romios 6-2 7-5

The Girl’s Singles was won by Jaimee Fourlis who will represent Australia at the Junior Fed Cup finals in Madrid in September. Fourlis was totally dominant in the final beating surprise finalist Violet Apisah (PNG) 6-1 6-0. Fourlis’ toughest match came in the quarterfinals where she beat 5thseed Rosie Cheng (NZL) 6-3, 6-2. In an all Australian girls doubles final, Fourlis and partner Baijing Lin clinched the match in a Match Tiebreak against 2nd seeds Selina Turulja and Nicole Kraemer 6-0 5-7 10-5.

Violet Apisah was the standout player from the Pacific reaching the Doubles Semi-Finals as well as the Singles Finals. No other Pacific players won main draw singles matches but Larry Magalasin (ASA), Graham Mani (SOL) and Terry Rush (FSM) all had wins over Australian or New Zealand players in the Boy’s Consolation event. Vienna Kumar and Patricia Apisah (PNG) won matches in the Girl’s consolation.

A Mixed Doubles event was run on the last two days and this proved popular and competitive. Australians Kaitlin Staines and Thomas Bosancic won an entertaining final over Catherine Kreuger (AUS) and Ajeet Rai (NZL) 4-1 5-4 (3). The Pacific pairing of Carol Lee (NMI)/Terry Rush (FSM) reached the semi finals and the pairings of Patricia Apisah (PNG)/Junior Benjamin (SOL) and Ayana Rengiil (PAL)/Larry Magalasin (ASA) reached the quater-finals.

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2014:

The OCJC was held in early August 2014 in Lautoka, Fiji with 7 of the 8 Boy’s quarter-finalists hailing from Australia. In the Final, the 5th seed Max Purcell (AUS) defeated his compatriot Daniel Nolan, the 3rd seed, in two very tight sets 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5)

The Girl’s Singles Final also saw 7 of the 8 quarter finalist being from Australia. The final saw the top seed, Naiktha Bain (AUS) play 2nd seed Sara Tomic (AUS) with Tomic outlasting her opponent in a match of extremely hard hitting 6-4, 6-3.

In the Boy’s Doubles Final, New Zealander William Matheson, defending his 2013 Doubles Title, and his partner Brian Tran (AUS), the second seeds were too strong for the Australian pairing of Kody Pearson and Lucas Vuradin, winning 6-4, 6-3.

The Girl’s Doubles Final saw the top seeded Australia pairing of Naiktha Bain and Sara Tomic beat Rosie Cheng (NZL) and Maddison Inglis (AUS) 7-5, 6-4. In 2003 the Mixed Doubles was cancelled due to inclement weather but this year the weather was fantastic for tennis all week. 12 pairs contested the Mixed Doubles with Australians Benard Nkomba and Kayla McPhee upsetting top seeds Mitchell Harper and Alicia Smith, also of Australia, in the final 5-4, 4-2

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The Oceania Closed Junior Championships will be held in Lautoka, Fiji from the 4th-8th August 2014. The Fact Sheet can be accessed here OCJC ITF Junior Fact Sheet 2014

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The Oceania Closed Junior Championships (OCJC) commence on Monday 14th August. Below is the Tournament Software link to the draws etc

http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=90262D66-2B74-4FD5-B4E4-2E293E19201D

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Tournament Director, John Shannon pictured with the Boy’s Singles winner of the 2013 OCJC, Alex Klintcharov (NZL) OCJC Tournament Director John Shannon with the Boy's Singles Winner, Alex Klintcharov

2013 OCJC Players with Country Flags in the backgroundOCJC Players

The 3 Chair Umpires for the 2013 OCJC from Left: Ben Carter (AUS); Pierre Messonier (CAL)
and Caroline Dupuy (CAL)

 OCJC Chair Umpires Ben Carter (AUS); Pierre Messonier(CAL) and Caroline Dupuy (CAL)

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The acceptance list for the OCJC is as per this link OCJC Acceptance List 7 August

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The Fact sheet for the 2013 Oceania Closed Junior Championships (OCJC) can be accessed by clicking on the following link OCJC ITF Junior Fact Sheet 2013

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The Oceania Closed Junior Championships (OCJC) is for member nations of the Oceania Tennis Federation only.

Tennis Australia and Tennis New Zealand have special selection criteria for their players. Australian and New Zealand players should refer to their National Associations before entering. All entries are to be made online through the ITF IPIN system.

Players from Pacific Nations are to enter online through the IPIN system as well and will be selected according to the published criteria or will qualify on performance at the Pacific Oceania Junior Closed Championships(POCJC), an event for Pacific nation players only.

In 2013 the event will be held from the 19th-23rd August in Lautoka, Fiji. a fact sheet will be posted on here in the immediate future.

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