Compared to Roger Federer in many points, Henry Bernet has already done something more than the Master: won the Australian Open among juniors. Saturday, his 18th birthday, the other Basel player won in the final against the American Benjamin Willwerth (6-3 6-4). Arriving as a favorite in Melbourne after his victory in the Traralgon preparatory tournament, the other junior from TC Old Boys deployed his attacking tennis with confidence throughout the week, losing only one set in the round of 16 against to the Serbian Ognjen Milic (his only hooked match).
The Australian Open, which had started very badly in the Swiss camp (only one qualifier, defeats of Viktorija Golubic, Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Stricker in the first round, round of 16 for the returning Belinda Bencic) therefore ended with a optimistic note. But the road is long and a Grand Slam title among juniors does not guarantee becoming a major player on the professional circuit.
Henry Bernet is the sixth Swiss to win a Grand Slam junior tournament, after Heinz Günthardt (Roland-Garros and Wimbledon 1976), Roger Federer (Wimbledon 1998), Roman Valent (Wimbledon 2001), Stan Wawrinka (Roland-Garros 2003) and Dominic Stricker (Roland-Garros 2020). Among the girls, Martina Hingis won Roland-Garros two years in a row (which she was never able to do afterwards) in 1993 – at 12 and a half years old! – and 1994. Belinda Bencic, barely less precocious, achieved the Roland-Garros-Wimbledon double in 2013 at the age of 15. Finally, Rebeka Masarova from Basel won Roland-Garros in 2016, was a finalist at the Australian Open in 2017, decided to play for Spain in 2018 before returning to the Swiss fold at the start of this year.
