Eighteenth birthdays rarely come better this. On the day he reached milestone, Switzerland’s Henry Bernet celebrated by winning the boys' title at the 2025 Australian Open Junior Championships - his first Junior Grand Slam crown.

It was hugely deserved with a crowd approaching 2,000 spectators by the time the unseeded Benjamin Willwerth, from Florida, hit long to hand Bernet the trophy.

Comparisons with his compatriot Roger Federer have been growing all week (Bernet has effected a stylish single-handed backhand) and they share the same home town of Basel.

“He is playing like Federer now,” said a gracious Willwerth afterwards and the mutual respect between the two players was evident in their match embrace and speeches.

Bernet becomes the first Swiss player - boy or girl - to win a Junior Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open and joins a list of Swiss Junior Grand Slam champions that includes Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Martina Hingis.

Bernet has met and chatted with Federer just once to  date but, while nothing more is planned, this will surely change.

“I would love to talk to him again," said Bernet. "I mean, he's busy. I would love to have a chat with him. I'm not expecting one now."

The two finalists had not met before and the match itself was straightforward, Bernet swinging ferociously with his ground shots that connected more often than not. 

But it was his serve, one thunderbolt late in the second set reaching 205 kmph, that was the base of his success. Indeed, power and accuracy was evident throughout his 6-3 6-4 win.

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He might want to think about relocating to Australia too. Bernet has now won his last 12 matches in this country having triumphed at J300 Traralgon - the traditional warm-up to the Australian Open Junior Championships, last week.

The crowd most certainly took to him, a posse of yellow-shirted children bunching and leaping together as he threw two towels into the stands post-match. Already this is one popular player and he lapped it all up.

“Today, on my birthday, I had the chance to play on the Rod Laver Arena which is something very special," he said.

"I will never forget that, even if I would have lost the match. But it's even better that I won the match. I'm just very happy.”

The immediate future is yet to be decided he said.

“I think I'm still going to play the bigger junior tournaments, then mix it up with pro tournaments. I'm now going back to practice.

"I think that's the important part. After having many matches, it is important to recover quickly, have a short break, then practice first before going to the next tournaments.”

Early days, but finishing the season as the top-ranked boy on the planet and becoming and ITF World Champion is within the capabilities of Bernet, while another goal for the campaign could be Davis Cup recognition for Switzerland. 

“Representing your country in Davis Cup is probably everyone's dream,” Bernet said. “We in Switzerland have many other good players. I think someday maybe I'm going to be part of the team. I'm also patient waiting for an opportunity.”

He revealed he also enjoys skiing, and had a day on the Swiss slopes over Christmas but conceded that, to prevent injuries, he may need to rethink this part of his life.

“I don't want to stop, but that's probably a sacrifice I have to make.”

A full list of results from the 2025 Australian Open Junior Championships is available here