Stefan Kozlov of Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Henrik Wiersholm of Kirkland, Wash., defeated No. 1 seeds Andrey Rublev of Russia and Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-2, 6-3 to capture the boys' doubles title at the prestigious AEGON Junior International, an elite 14-and-under event being held Jan. 17-23 in Bolton, England.

Kozlov and Wiersholm have also advanced to the singles final at the tournament and are scheduled to face each other Friday in the championship match.

Kozlov, 12, is the reigning champion at the AEGON Junior International and recently won the USTA Boys’ 14s Winter National Championships. Currently ranked No. 1 in the USTA boys’ 14s, he advanced to the AEGON final after defeating Domagoj Biljesko of Croatia 6-0, 6-3 in the semifinals.

Wiersholm, 13, and currently ranked No. 2 in the USTA boys' 14s behind Kozlov, was a singles and doubles finalist at the 2010 USTA Boys’ 14s National Championships and swept the singles and doubles titles at the 2009 USTA Boys’ 12s National Championships. He advanced to the final after posting a 6-1, 6-1 victory over fellow American Francis Tiafoe of College Park, Md.

 

Kozlov, Wiersholm and Tiafoe are three of eight American juniors who were selected to represent the United States at the AEGON Junior International and Les Petits As, another prestigious 14-and-under event, which will be held in Tarbes, France, Jan. 24-30. Other U.S. players competing in the European tournaments include Eduardo Nava of Woodland Hills, Calif.; Nicole Frenkel of Winchester, Mass.; Kenadi Hance of Torrance, Calif.; Julia O'Loughlin of Boca Raton, Fla.; and Carolyn Xie of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Kent Kinnear, USTA National Coach for Men’s Tennis, and Troy Hahn, USTA Coach for Women’s Tennis, have accompanied the players on the trip.

The AEGON Junior International and Les Petits As feature some of the world’s best 14-and-under players each year. A number of former winners have gone on to win Grand Slam tournaments, including Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Michael Chang and Martina Hingis. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Donald Young are among the Americans to have captured titles at Les Petits As, and Lindsay Davenport was a finalist at the event in 1990.