January 29, 2022 - Petra Marčinko has done it all in Melbourne! The 16-year-old Croatian tennis player became the Australian Open Juniors champion! 

The world No. 1 junior defeated Belgium's Sofia Costoulas 7:5, 6:1 in the final in Melbourne. This is her 12th consecutive victory, combining the titles at the Orange Bowl and the Australian Open.

The young Zagreb native thus became the fourth Croatian female tennis player to succeed at the Australian Open Juniors after Mirjana Lučić (1997), Jelena Kostanić (1998), and Ana Konjuh in 2013. She also broke the Croatian drought of winning Junior Grand Slams - the last time Borna Ćorić and Ana Konjuh did it was at the 2013 US Open.

Marčinko did most of the work of the final in the first set, in which Costoulas led 5:4. Marčinko then won seven consecutive games (for a 4-0 advantage in the second set) and ultimately settled the match in her favor.

Her time to shine ?

?? Petra Marcinko · #AusOpen · #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/Hn1XUWJWaF

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2022

"It was a tough match. Playing at Rod Laver Arena was a great experience. I was a little nervous at the beginning because this is a really big stadium, and this was also my first Grand Slam final. But I kept my composure in the key moments. The game was the same level all the time; I didn't have big drops. It's a great thing for me to have this trophy, to win the Grand Slam," Petra said in the first reaction, adding:

"Now I feel great, I feel confident. I'm excited to see what it will look like on a professional level, which I will play this year, and see how it will go in stronger ITF tournaments and maybe some WTA. I'm excited about it," Marčinko concluded.

 Sofia Costoulas briefly commented on the match:

"I definitely had a good time. I played great matches here. I also had the opportunity to play at Margaret Court Arena and Rod Laver Arena. What else can you ask for? I am thrilled this week, but also a little disappointed with this today. Petra played a very good match," Costoulas said.

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