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The fourth edition of the ITF Junior Masters at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu has been completed with the Sunday's title matches in both boys' and girls' part of the draw. After losing the finals of Eddie Herr, Australian Open, US Open and Youth Olympic Games, the 17-year-old Clara Burel has finally won a big title, defeating Maria Camila Osorio Serrano 7-6 6-1 to succeed Marta Kostyuk as the champion in Chengdu. World number 2 had 11 double faults and she had to work hard to grab the opener, trailing 5-2 against the rival who had the upper hand in the first part of the match.
Osorio Serrano wasted a set point and then lost four games in a row before breaking back in the last moment to level the score at 6-6 and set up a tie break. The Colombian led 6-4 but it wasn't to be for her, squandering a pair of set points to drop the breaker 8-6 and send the momentum to the other side of the net.
Leading 3-1 in the second set, Burel saved three break points and she held the advantage until the end of the match, taking the set 6-1 and starting a huge celebration of what was her first title of the season. Clara Tauson, the youngest player in the draw, toppled the Australian Open winner Liang En Shuo 6-2 6-3 to settle for the third place, seeking even bigger results in 2019 after entering the Top 3 following a stellar season.
World number 13 Brandon Nakashima was the last player to enter the Masters directly and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, going all the way to win the title after a dominant performance over the world number 1 Chun Hsin Tseng 6-2 6-1 in less than an hour! The winner of the Grade 1 events at International Spring Championships and Junior International Roehampton dominated the court against a two-time Grand Slam champion on both the serve and return, taking an early advantage and never looking back.
The American held in the opening game with a service winner and another good serve pushed him 2-1 up, finding the range right from the start to mount the pressure on the top seed and the favorite. Tseng closed the fourth game with a forehand winner but his right wing let him down in the sixth game when he sprayed a forehand error to find himself 4-2 down.
Nakashima secured the break with another good hold in game seven and he placed a backhand down the line winner for a break at love in game eight, taking the opener 6-2 in just 27 minutes. Chun Hsin lost the ground completely and he suffered a break at 15 in the second game of the second set when Brandon's return found his target to extend his lead.
The American played a loose service game to get broken in the following game but he was back on the winning way after another break in game four thanks to a backhand mistake from Chun Hsin. Nakashima held for a 4-1 advantage and he moved a game away from the title after a forehand error from Tsung who just couldn't play on a high level for five or 10 minutes and impose his shots.
Serving for the title in the seventh game, Nakashima blasted four winners to complete a marvelous win and add his name on the list of champions that includes Andrey Rublev, Seong Chan Hong and Emil Ruusuvuori. Final results: