Tennis Europe Junior Tour

Germany & Ukraine win 14&U Summer Cups titles

Germany & Ukraine win 14&U Summer Cups titles

Germany and Ukraine have been crowned as the champions of the 2014 European Summer Cups 14 & Under team competitions.

At the boys’ final rounds in Murcia (ESP), Germany came from behind to beat top seeds Russia 2/1 and claim the Copa Del Sol title for the first time since 1998.

Opening a tie that would see five of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour’s top seven-ranked players in  action, Russia’s Nikolay Vylegzhanin ousted Bolton champion Nicola Kuhn 7-5 6-2 to give the defending champions an early lead.

The second match saw Europe’s current 14 & Under #1, Rudolf Molleker, play his predecessor at the top of the rankings, Alen Avidzba. Breaking twice to take the first set, the Russian looked likely to put the tie beyond the reach of the Germans, but Molleker staged a remarkable comeback, losing just two more games to complete a 2-6 6-1 6-1 win and level the tie.

With team-mate Fabian Penzkofer on the sidelines, Molleker & Kuhn then teamed up for the deciding doubles match against Avidzba and Alexey Zakharov. The Germans scored a decisive break at the end of each set to secure a 7-5 7-5 win.

The win is the sixth Summer Cups title for Germany’s boys in this age group, moving them ahead of Sweden and into sole possession of second place on the all-time leader board behind France.

It has been a remarkable season for the Germans in 14 & Under team events, with Molleker, Kuhn and Henri Squire having already secured the Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD title last February, where they also faced the Russians in the final.

Later in the day, Ukraine won the girls’ Europa Cup title for a second time, winning both of their singles matches in Loano (ITA) to end Poland’s hops of claiming a first-ever title.

The unseeded Ukrainians had an impressive weekend, ousting the top seeded Russian team in their opening match and coming from behind to beat Spain in a closely contested semi-final.  The final match turned out to be their easiest as Katarina Zavataska beat Iga Swiatek 6-3 7-5 in the opening rubber before Dayana Yastremska blasted past Ania Hertel 6-4 6-0 to put the tie out of reach of the Poles.

Hertel then teamed up with Wiktoria Rutkowska to earn a consolation point, as the pair edged past Yastremska and Yelyzaveta Domukhovska 6-4 7-6 (6).

As a result of Ukraine’s win, Yastremska will move to within a whisker of returning to the #1 spot on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour while her team-mate Zavatska will rise from #21 to the edge of the top 10.

Full draws and results from the competition can be found here. The remaining Summer Cups categories (16 and 18 & Under) will get underway on July 30th.

The 14 & Under Summer Cups are also considered as the regional qualifying event for the ITF World Junior Tennis competition, the final rounds of which will be played in Prostejov (CZE) next month. As hosts, the Czech Republic qualifies automatically for the boys’ and girls’ competition, alongside the teams highlighted in red below.

Final Standings

Boys 14 & Under:

1. Germany
2. Russia
3. Portugal
4. Spain
5. Czech Republic
6. Poland

7. Sweden
8. Israel

Results: Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3Photos

Girls 14 & Under:

1. Ukraine
2. Poland
3. Spain
4. Romania
5. Russia

6. Switzerland
7. Serbia
8. Slovenia

Results: Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos

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