Multilingual Switzerland showcase on-court fluency in Prostejov
It may still be early days, but numerous boys’ teams on show at this week’s ITF World Junior Tennis Finals are attracting admiring glances. Germany and Slovenia have most certainly impressed, as have Switzerland.
The Swiss last conquered all before them here in Prostejov in 2017 when Jerome Kym and Yarin Aebi joined forces to dispatch a Spain team in the final which included current world No. 22 Carlos Alcaraz.
If the opening jousts of this year’s Finals are anything to go by then another crowning as the world’s best team in the 14-and-under age category is not out of the question, with Switzerland boasting a 100 per cent record from their two ties.
Their latest victims were Mexico. Singles triumphs for Thomas Gunzinger and Flynn Thomas, followed by doubles success for Gunzinger and Alex Bergomi, powered Switzerland to victory and a position of strength in Group D.
Results elsewhere mean that Switzerland and Germany progress to the quarter-finals, with the small matter of the group’s top spot to be determined tomorrow, while Mexico and Colombia face positional play-offs.
“For me, the most important thing is still the experience the players can take,” Switzerland captain Roberto Bresolin told itftennis.com. “I want them to take in as much as possible and take home a really good experience which enables them to progress to the next step.
“It has been great so far and there is a great spirit, while the opportunity for my players to compete against players from other continents is invaluable. Until now, they have managed their emotions pretty well, but we will see when the stress rises.
“This really is the first step for these players. Looking at the big picture, what does it mean to be world champion at 14-and-under level? Probably not too much, although it is much better to be world champion than not. Whatever happens, they must keep their feet on the ground.”
Rather interestingly, due to the make-up and background of the Switzerland team, Bresolin communicates with each player in a different language, with Gunzinger more proficient in French, Thomas in German and Bergomi in Italian.
“It is pretty special for us as we talk in different languages – our country is a little strange,” said Bresolin. “But there is a really good feeling among the team. It is the same team that came through European qualifying and there is a good spirit.”
Elsewhere, in Group A there was a first ever victory at the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals for Kazakhstan, who defeated Argentina 2-1 courtesy of doubles success for Daniel Tazabekov and Damir Zhalgasbay.
Italy, meanwhile, recovered from their opening day defeat by Argentina to beat Ecuador 2-1 in another tie which went to the wire, with doubles pairing Antonio Marigliano and Raffaele Ciurnelli holding their nerve to win a match tiebreak 10-4.
All teams in Group A have now won one of their two matches, so there is all to play for during the final group-stage encounters tomorrow, with Kazakhstan going head-to-head with Italy and Argentina drawing swords with Ecuador.
The qualification equation is more straightforward in Group B. Korea, Republic and Bulgaria have both secured their place in the quarter-finals with their second victories of the week against Morocco and South Africa [both 2-1] respectively. Top spot will be decided tomorrow when Korea, Republic face Bulgaria.
It is a similar situation in Group C with Slovenia and USA both guaranteed a quarter-final slot following today's 2-1 wins over hosts Czech Republic and Japan. The two nations will now battle it out for first-place in the group tomorrow.
A full list of results from day two of the 2022 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals is available here.