El Salvador and Dominican Republic move one step closer to Prostejov
There is still a seven-month wait before the 2020 ITF World Junior Tennis champions will be crowned but sparring ahead of the main event is in full swing and El Salvador and Dominican Republic have landed early blows.
El Salvador’s boys and the girls of Dominican Republic topped their respective podiums at North/Central America and Caribbean Pre-qualifying, which mean the two nations advance to the region’s final qualifying event in Montreal. Final qualifying for the premier ITF tournament in the 14 and under age category will take place from 23-25 April.
El Salvador and Dominican Republic will now both go head-to-head with Canada, Mexico and USA in their respective divisions and do battle for the two places up for grabs at August’s World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov, Czech Republic.
It will be no easy task for either nation, with the USA eyeing a third successive World Junior Tennis boys’ title, while the American girls have lifted the trophy on seven occasions.
Canada are also regular finalists in both the boys’ and girls’ draws in Prostejov, which will be held from 3-8 August, and their girls finished third at the 2019 Finals behind winners Czech Republic and USA.
For now, however, El Salvador and Dominican Republic can do no more. El Salvador’s boys, who were seeded No. 5 for the pre-qualifying event, dispatched Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda and Costa Rica in the group stages.
El Salvador, represented by Cesar Cruz, Enrique Lopez and Javier Mejia, then overpowered Jamaica, Honduras and latterly Dominican Republic in the knockout phase to confirm their progression to the final qualifying stage.
Not that they knew at the time but had Dominican Republic found a way past El Salvador then it would have been a clean sweep for the Caribbean nation as they proceeded to win the girls’ pre-qualifying event.
No. 6 seeds and hosts Dominican Republic, with Rosario Elmudesi, Maria Gell and Alexa Lerebours in their ranks, disposed of Curacao, Honduras and Guatemala in the group stage.
Then came the knockout clashes and they navigated the hurdles of Bahamas, top seeds Trinidad and Tobago and Puerto Rico to confirm their passage to Montreal.