USA defend World Junior Tennis crown in Prostejov
USA claimed their second successive ITF World Junior Tennis boys’ title after holding their nerve during a closely-fought doubles match tiebreak against France in Prostejov.
It is the first time that a nation has won back-to-back titles in the boys' draw since 2003. The last team to achieve this feat was also the USA, who successfully defended the title they won 12 months earlier by defeating Japan.
The American duo of Nishesh Basavareddy and Kyle Kang defeated a spirited French side 6-2 6-7 (5) 10-6 during a clash in which both nations displayed tactical nous and top-level ability as they battled for the top spot.
Following narrowly missing out in a second set tiebreak, Basavareddy and Kang showed impressive focus and resolve to put this initial setback behind them and take control at the decisive moment.
It was a performance which typified the USA side this week and captain Jon Glover felt this was just reward for his boys, telling ITFtennis.com: “It’s a good feeling to see the kids positively rewarded for all the work they’ve put in over the last couple of weeks. They’ve developed good habits, had great routines and have been rewarded for their hard work.”
The stand-out performer of the USA’s success was Nishesh Basavareddy, who looked at ease on the clay courts of the TK Plus Centre as he coolly disposed of France’s Gabriel Debru, who prior to this boasted a perfect singles record.
Basavareddy, who himself can lay claim to an undefeated week in both singles and doubles while completing the tournament without dropping a set in singles, was on hand to delicately touch home the winning volley and hand USA their sixth tournament title.
“I think this title is very important but we must keep working hard in the future to become great professional players. This is just one of the first steps in the process” Basavareddy told ITFtennis.com. “We’ve been working a lot these last few weeks on improving our communication and our chemistry on court and I think that this week really showed that”.
Indeed, it seems that team chemistry was the order of the day for the USA, with Basavareddy and Kang roared on by the USA girls’ team and teammate Dylan Charlap.
Speaking after the tie, Charlap hailed the commitment that he and his teammates have shown in sticking to a winning routine over the past three weeks. He said: “If we saw each other at the beginning of these three weeks together versus at the end, there has been so much improvement in everything we have done. We’ve kept our routine from day one and I feel that’s been the difference today.”
Across the other side of the net, it was a day of learning for captain Boris Vallejo’s young French side. “As a coach, I am very proud of them giving their best and pushing hard,” said Vallejo. “They are young players and have to understand what it takes to become a great tennis player. You have to react and respond to situations, you always have to try to find a way to win even when it’s difficult, physically and mentally”.
USA and France were joined on the podium by the Czech Republic, who were the No.1 seeds going into the Finals but were shocked yesterday by France in a tension-filled semi-final.
The hosts looked to have put this disappointment behind them and secured a podium finish by overpowering a resilient Croatia outfit. The Czechs relied on their doubles prowess to seal the win after Vojtech Petr had put them back on track following an earlier epic battle between Lukas Velik and Matej Dodik, which saw the Croat ultimately come out on top.
Elsewhere, there was joy for Bulgaria as they battled back from a point down to secure a win over third seeds Japan and record a fifth place finish. Argentina swept aside Brazil 2-0 to finish seventh, Romania, finished proceedings in ninth after defeating Germany, while Peru made light work of Canada to finish eleventh. The remaining places were occupied by Thailand, Australia, China and then Egypt.