Kudla had a relatively easy time capturing the Copa Casablanca, not losing a single set on his way to the title. The only player to push Kudla to a tie-break was runner up Juan Sebastian Gomez, who proved that his surprising route to the final was no fluke. For Kudla this title was a breakthrough of sorts, since the American had not been able to justify his career high ranking of 9, which he reached on the 18th of May of 2009. Kudla failed to get past the first round at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and got no further than the quarterfinals at his home Grand Slam, the US Open. Towards the end of the year Kudla’s form moved into an upward spiral, first capturing the Eddie Herr International and then going into the Orange Bowl as a strong favourite. Unfortunately for Kudla, he had to retire against Dutchman Justin Eleveld in the third round. Kudla clearly redeemed himself with this emphatic title win at the Copa Casablanca, lifting him well into the Junior top 10 in third position. Runner up Juan Sebastian Gomez also receives a significant boost to his ranking, rising from 173rd to 44th position.

Ishizu clearly had a different focus in the past year, mostly playing senior events after dropping out in the second round of the Junior tournament of Wimbledon. Ishizu made a brief appearance in the Junior circuit by reaching the semifinals of the Osaka Mayor’s cup, which was her last Junior tournament before the Copa Casablanca. On her way to the title Ishizu encountered few problems, only suffering a second set scare against 8th seeded Belgian An Sophie Mestach. Her other matches, the final against 7th seed Puig especially, completed without much problems. Puig upset a few players on her way to the final, upsetting 4th seed Tamara Curovic and 6th seed Katarena Paliivets, but had no answer to the game of Ishizu. Ishizu only allowed Puig two games, becoming the first Asian winner to capture the Copa Casablanca. Ishizu now follows in the footsteps of several compatriots who already reached the Junior top 10, including Kurumi Nara, Miyabi Inoue and current top 100 player Ayumi Morita. Runner up Monica Puig also improves her ranking considerably, jumping up from 48th into 21st position. 

Quarterfinal boys results Copa Casablanca:

Juan Sebastian Gomez (COL) d. Mitchell Frank (USA,1) 7-5 7-5
Filip Horansky (SVK,3) d. Vladislav Dubinsky (RUS,10) 6-2 6-4
Junior Ore (USA,4) d. Oliver Golding (GBR,7) 6-2 6-3
Denis Kudla (USA,2) d. Mitchell Krueger (USA) 6-2 6-1

Semifinal boys results Copa Casablanca:

Juan Sebastian Gomez (COL) d. Filip Horansky (SVK,3) 7-6(6) 6-4
Denis Kudla (USA,2) d. Junior Ore (USA,4) 7-5 6-0

Final boys result Copa Casablanca:

Denis Kudla (USA,2) d. Juan Sebastian Gomez (COL) 7-6(6) 6-2

Profile Denis Kudla:

Birthdate: 27-02-1992
Birthplace: Ukraine
Residence: Arlington, USA
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Favourite surface: Grass
Age started tennis: 7
Junior titles: 5 (2007: Club Casablanca Juniors (Grade 5), Jalisco Junior Cup (Grade 4); 2008: South Carolina ITF (Grade 2); 2009: Eddie Herr International (Grade 1); 2010: Copa Casablanca (Grade A))
Career high position (before Copa Casablanca): 9 (18 May 2009)
Career high ATP ranking: 1051 (28 December 2009)

Quarterfinal girls results Copa Casablanca:

Doroteja Eric (SRB) d. Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN,1) 6-4 7-6(3)
Sachie Ishizu (JPN,3) d. An Sophie Mestach (BEL,8) 6-4 2-6 6-2
Monica Puig (PUR,7) d. Tamara Curovic (SRB,4) 7-6(5) 3-6 6-4
Katarena Paliivets (CAN,6) d. Polina Leykina (RUS,2) 6-4 6-1

Semifinal girls results Copa Casablanca:

Sachie Ishizu (JPN,3) d. Doroteja Eric (SRB) 6-2 6-4
Monica Puig (PUR,7) d. Katarena Paliivets (CAN,6) 4-6 6-0 6-0

Final girls result Copa Casablanca:

Sachie Ishizu (JPN,3) d. Monica Puig (PUR,7) 6-2 6-0

Profile Sachie Ishizu:

Birthdate: 03-09-1992
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Residence: Tsuchiura, Japan
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Favourite surface: Hard
Age started tennis: 4
Junior titles: 2 (2009: Delhi Juniors (Grade 2); 2010: Copa Casablanca (Grade A))
Career high position (before Copa Casablanca): 31 (2 November 2009)
Career high WTA ranking: 558 (5 October 2009)