Ziga Sesko of Slovenia wins the boys' final at the Australian Open; Ksenia Efremova wins the girls

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Slovenian Ziga Sesko lifted his game after a shaky first set to beat favored American Keaton Hanse 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday in the junior boys final at the Australian Open.

Sesko had little time to savor his victory, other than to lift the trophy over his head at the after-match presentation. He was due to board a flight home hours after the final to join the Slovenian team for a Davis Cup tie against Turkey, starting Friday.

The seventh-seeded 17-year-old started a slight underdog against fourth-seeded Hanse, from Torrance, California.

Hanse looked the stronger and more steady player in the first set, breaking for a 3-2 lead in the fifth game and comfortably holding to take the set in 38 minutes.

Sesko lifted strongly in the second set, gaining more purchase on serve and beginning to crush his forehand while also mixing in a difficult backhand slice. He broke Hanse in the sixth game and took the set in 37 minutes.

The Slovenian dominated the final set, breaking Hanse in the third game. While he was broken in the sixth game for 3-3, he broke back immediately to lead 4-3. Sesko had two championship points on Hanse's serve in the ninth game and conceded only one point in his last service game to take the final on his third match point.

Hanse and Sesko are close friends on tour and have warmed up together all week. Both were playing for the first time on the Rod Laver Arena, the roof of which was closed against the possibility of rain.

“I'd like to congratulate Ziga on an amazing tournament and really well-deserved win,” Hanse said. “I hope I can get revenge on him somewhere in the future.”

Sesko is the third Slovenian to reach a Grand Slam junior singles final and the first since Katarina Srebotnik won the Wimbledon and US Open titles in 1998.

“Keaton is an amazing man, an amazing tennis player,” Sesko said. “I hope we will play many more times and I hope you don't get the revenge.”

Ksenia Efremova of France beat Ekaterina Tupitsyna of Russia 6-3, 7-5 in the junior girls final, which was the first meeting of the pair.

She’s a very, very good player,” said Efremova, who is the first French girl to reach a Junior Grand Slam final since Elsa Jacquemot won the Roland Garros girls’ title in 2020.

“You maybe don’t hear a lot from her but I know that she’s practicing a lot in Russia and she’s competing there. She doesn’t really travel much," Efremova said ahead of the final. “It’s going to be a very great and interesting match between us because she’s an aggressive player."

Tupitsyna showed that aggression in hitting 21 winners agaisnt 45 unforced errors in the final. But Efremova was steadier, put 72% of first serves in play and won 58% of first serve points.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Ksenia Efremova of France holds her trophy after defeating Ekaterina Tupitsyna of Russia in the girl's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Keaton Hance of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Ziga Sesko of Slovenia during the boy's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Ziga Sesko of Slovenia plays a forehand return to Keaton Hance of the U.S. during the boy's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Ziga Sesko of Slovenia celebrates after defeating Keaton Hance of the U.S. in the boy's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Ziga Sesko, left, of Slovenia poses with his trophy after defeating Keaton Hance, right, of the U.S. in the boy's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

“The Great American State Fair” is a series of concerts, exhibits, tributes and other programs scheduled to take place June 25 to July 10 on Washington’s National Mall. It was organized by Freedom 250, which is billed as a nonpartisan organization but was launched last year by President Donald Trump and is headed by a Trump State Department appointee from his first term, the businessman-philanthropist Keith Krach.

On Wednesday, Freedom 250 announced that Bret Michaels, the Commodores and Martina McBride would be among the musical performers, some of whom were slated for an “I Love the ’90s” show on June 26.

But by late Thursday, Michaels, the Commodores and McBride had dropped out, as did Morris Day and Young MC.

Michaels and others have said that they were misled about the theme of the shows or were otherwise wary of being caught up in a political fight. In an Instagram post, Michaels wrote that he had thought his show would be a chance to “honor our veterans, active military, first responders, teachers and hardworking Americans from all walks of life.” But he concluded that the event had “evolved into something much more divisive” and referred to “threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable.”

McBride also issued an Instagram statement, saying she had been “presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.” Young MC expressed similar sentiments in an Instagram post, while the Commodores released a brief statement saying they chose “not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.”

As of Friday morning, performers still expected to appear include Flo Rida, Vanilla Ice and Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli, the Grammy-winning duo from the late 1980s-early 1990s who were discredited after reports that Morvan and fellow front man Rob Pilatus did not sing on the records and lip-synced on stage. (The actual singers, including sisters Jodie and Linda Rocco, told The Associated Press that they were not invited).

Morvan told the AP in an emailed statement that he was "here to entertain and unite people, not divide them.”

"Let’s celebrate life & music and take a trip down memory lane,” he said.

A representative for Vanilla Ice told the AP in an email that the “Ice Ice Baby” rapper was “proud to help celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!"

"Everyone is welcome to attend and celebrate USA’s Birthday and our Freedom!” the representative said.

A Flo Rida representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Freedom 250 organizers have yet to respond to AP requests for comment. Freedom 250 spokeswoman Rachel Reisner told The New York Times in a statement that “Freedom 250 is focused on our signature celebrations and events that honor our history and engage all Americans.”

Trump, a Republican, has some prominent supporters in the entertainment industry, including Sylvester Stallone and Nicki Minaj, but many more have shunned him. Taylor Swift, Robert De Niro,Billie Eilish and Bruce Springsteen are among those who have endorsed Democrats and/or condemned Trump, while Elton John, Kenny Loggins and others have objected to their music being used for Trump rallies or Trump videos. After the president ousted the leadership last year at the Kennedy Center and had his own name placed on the building’s facade, numerous artists, including Bela Fleck, Renée Fleming and Issa Rae, called off scheduled appearances.

FILE - Martina McBride performs, Oct. 28, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Young MC performs during the "I Love The 90's" tour on Aug. 7, 2022, at RiverEdge Park in Aurora, Ill. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 1992 file photo, Fabrice Morvan, left, and Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli perform during the taping of the Arsenio Hall Show in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Craig Fujii, File)

FILE - Singer Brett Michaels performs at halftime of an NFL football game between the Detroit Lions and the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)