andy tchinda u12

Photo: Peter Wyslouzil

The finals of the U12 Fischer Junior Nationals were played this weekend out of the Carrefour Multisports complex in Laval, Quebec. Winners were crowned in both boy’s and girl’s singles and doubles events. The tournament champions came from Ontario and Quebec, as players from the two provinces flourished and collectively swept the podium.

The boy’s singles final was a fantastic display of elite-level tennis. Tournament No.1-seed Andy Tchinda Kepche of Quebec defeated tournament No.2-seed Aedan Malik of Ontario 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a hard-fought clash. Tchinda Kepche, the more rested of the two, cruised through his quarter-final and semi-final matches, defeating Antoine Généreux of Quebec 6-2, 6-0 and Praneeth Pichika of Ontario 6-1, 6-1. Meanwhile, the tenacious Malik persevered and won his quarter-final and semi-final matches after dropping a set in both contests.

On the girls’ side, an all-Ontario matchup was held to determine the singles champion. Andrea Cabio of the Burlington Tennis Club and Jacey Tian of the North York Winter Tennis Club faced off for the fourth time in their young, bright careers. Despite the close battle, it was North York’s Tian that came out with the victory, winning 3-6, 7-5, 4-1 (ret.). Tian evened out her head-to-head with Cabio to 2-2.

In the doubles draw, Joseph Cunha of Ontario and singles finalist Malik defeated all-Quebec duo Généreux and Hayden Majumdar-Moreau 6-3, 6-2. Laurence Demers of Quebec and Andrea Katarina Taylor of Ontario pulled off the upset on the girls’ side against tournament No.1-seeds Joyce Geng and Amy Lu of British Columbia in a three-set thriller 7-5, 2-6, [10-8].

 “Well done to all of the players for their performances at the U12 Fischer Junior Nationals in Laval, Quebec,” said George Fischer, Tennis Canada donor and event funder. “Particular congratulations must go to the boys and girls singles champions Andy Tchinda Kepche and Jacey Tian respectively, as well as the boys doubles champions Joseph Cunha and Aedan Malik and girls doubles champions Laurence Demers and Andrea Katarina Taylor. Huge thanks to Tennis Canada for putting on the event in such difficult circumstances due to the impact of COVID-19.”

Click here to see all the results.