MELBOURNE, Australia — Vera Lapko has followed in Victoria Azarenka's footsteps by becoming just the second Belarusian to capture the girls' singles trophy at the Australian Open.
The 17-year-old Lapko upset defending champion and No. 2-seeded Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-4.
Azarenka was the last Belarusian to capture the title back in 2005.
Lapko has risen up the junior rankings to No. 12 after reaching the semifinals of the girls event at Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in 2015.