Jovan Sihota had one sneaker in the Panorama Recreation Centre on Wednesday and the other in the future.
He lost his Sweet 16 match 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 to Alan Cincunegui of Mexico in the Victoria International Junior ITF Tournament. But the emerging Victoria star can be excused. The Canadian U-14 champion is by far the youngest player in the U-18 tournament and competing against opponents three and four years older.
“These guys hit a lot bigger than at the U-14 level. You really have to keep your head in the game or they will really take advantage of you,” said Sihota.
“This is only my second ITF tournament, so to win my first game in the opening round of the main draw [to advance to the Sweet 16] was good.”
That is something Sihota will be doing plenty of as he moves through his career, which will be closely watched in elite Canadian tennis circles. He could be something special. His whole family could be. Cousin Jeevan Sihota of Victoria is the world U-12 golf champion.
“Our family was always into sports,” said Jovan.
The Victoria International Junior ITF Tournament, in its fourth year of being held at Panorama, has brought together aspiring players from as far as India. These are serious young players. Sihota relocated from Royal Oak Middle School to the Pro Arte Centre sports school in North Vancouver two years ago. The dream is to soon be at the Tennis Canada training centre in Montreal.
“My dream is to make the ATP,” he said.
If you haven’t heard, tennis is hot in Canada because of Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard, and all dreams suddenly seem possible.
“They are great examples,” said Sihota. “They were once just like us playing in tournaments just like this. We are following in their footsteps from when they were young and in these tournaments.”
Advancing to today’s quarter-finals, against Maksim Bogdanovich of the U.S., was Aaron Diemer of Brentwood Bay, who defeated Patrick Sebastain of the U.S. 7-6, 6-2 in the Sweet 16 on Wednesday.
Having grown up in the shadow of the Panorama Recreation Centre, this is a facility Diemer knows well, although he now attends the Bill Adams International Tennis Academy in Florida.
The top male seed is Stefan Palosi of Romania and the top female seed the national junior champion Alexandra Vagramov of Port Moody.
These are the potential pros of the future.
The players in this male and female singles and doubles tournament at Panorama are looking to accumulate points, through an international youth system from Levels 5 through 1, that lead to the annual Junior Wimbledon championships.
