Tagger makes history for Austria with junior French Open win

Lilli Tagger makes history as the first Austrian to win the French Open junior girls' singles title, defeating Hannah Klugman 6-2, 6-0. Coached by former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, the unseeded 17-year-old claimed her first major title without dropping a set, beating four seeds including world No. 1 Emerson Jones.

Lilli Tagger has made history for her country at the French Open as the first Austrian to win the junior girls' singles title.

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The unseeded Tagger, 17, defeated eighth-seeded Hannah Klugman of Great Britain 6-2, 6-0 in Saturday's final to seal her first major title without losing a set. It follows the first pro-level title she won in March -- a W35 event in Terrassa, Spain on the ITF World Tennis Tour -- where she beat, coincidentally enough, surprise Roland Garros women's semifinalist Lois Boisson.

Unseeded in Paris, Tagger was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in January, and beat four seeds in her clay-court triumph. In addition to Klugman, she knocked off world No. 1 Australian Emerson Jones in the semifinals, after having beaten third seed Jeline Vandromme of Belgium in her first match and No. 12 seed Julia Stusek of Germany in the third round.

And Tagger's triumph was significant not just for herself and for Austria, but for her coach as well. She has been working with Francesca Schiavone since October of 2023, and 15 years ago, the Italian won the Roland Garros women's title. The teenager, like Schiavone hits her backhand with one hand.

She has developed the shot over the last five years -- after winning a bet she made with her coach to make the switch if she won a local under-12 tournament -- and says that ahead of the match, Schiavone helped her just as much with the intangibles as she did tactics.

"I think it was two days ago when I watched the video of [Schiavone] winning here. I mean, she's are the queen of the clay," Tagger said with a smile.

"The most important thing she told me [was] to go out there, enjoy the moment, and try to, even if it wasn't that easy, but try to stay calm and focus on my goal," she added.

An unseeded pair also triumphed in the girls' doubles final: Germans Eva Bennemann and Sonja Zhenikhova rallied from a set behind to defeat third-seeded Czech sisters Alena Kovackova and Jana Kovackova 4-6, 6-4, [10-8].

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