Teams from the Czech Republic have capped an impressive weekend by winning both the boys’ and girls’ 16 & Under Winter Cups by Dunlop. The Czechs have dominated this 44th edition of the competition, sweeping three of the four titles on offer.
The events were split into eight qualifying zones, taking place in seven cities across Europe over the last month. After the hard-fought battles between some of Tennis Europe’s top junior stars, the field was whittled down to just two boys’ and two girls’ teams in today’s finals.
BOYS
The Czechs’ Road to the Title:
Qualifying - Slovakia 3-0, Lithuania 3-0, Great Britain 3-0
Final Rounds - Croatia 3-0, Spain 2-1, Germany 2-0
The #2 players got the ball rolling on finals day in Marcq-en-Baroeul (FRA), with 135-ranked Martin Doskocil coming out of the blocks fast, outdoing his lower-ranked opponent Bengt Johan Reinhard (#399). The Czech took the match 6-1 7-6(4) putting the second seeds 1-0 up. In the clutch match, #10 ranked Diego Dedura-Palomero was hoping to put the Germans on an even keel. Last year’s 14&U Junior Masters champ was certainly up for the challenge against Czech #1 Jan Kumstat.
With just two ranking spots separating the players, the match went all the way. In the end, it was the #8 ranked Czech who scored a crucial break in the deciding set, taking the match and securing the title 2-6 7-5 6-4.
With the win, the Czechs successfully defended their title, having also won the last edition, staged in 2020. This is the first time a nation has won two events on the trot since France in 2009-10 and now brings the Czech 16 & Under boys’ Winter Cups champions tally to three, including the 1991 edition won as part of Czechoslovakia.
Final Standings:
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- Spain
- Romania
- Hungary
- Great Britain
- Italy
- Croatia
GIRLS
The Czechs’ Road to the Title:
Qualifying - Hungary 3-0, Austria 3-0, Poland 2-1
Final Rounds - Belgium 3-0, Sweden 2-0, Great Britain 2-1
The girls’ final rounds were also played in France, this time in Brest, where the highly fancied Eliska Forejtkova (ranked #36) saw off plucky Novocastrian Abby Kelliher (#315) in a tougher than expected 7-6(3) 4-6 6-1 opening tussle.
2022 Roehampton 14&U champ Mika Stojsavljevic (#37) was then able to pull off an upset for the Brits, downing higher-ranked Julie Pastikova (#28) 2-6 6-4 6-3, levelling the tie and taking the final to a live doubles rubber.
The two Czechs returned to court to face Kelliher and Allegra Korpanec Davies for Team GB. Again, the Brits held their own against their higher-ranked opponents and forced the tie to a deciding match-tie break. It would be the arguably more experienced Czech pair (Forejtkova is the reigning European 14&U doubles champion and also played on the winning World Junior Tennis team last year) that held their nerve with some style though, eventually posting a 6-7(7) 6-3 10-3 victory.
This was the first final appearance for the Czechs in this age category since their runner-up posts in 2016-17. They have now amassed five trophies at this event with previous wins coming in 2008, as well as three consecutive wins from 2010-12. Meanwhile, this was the most successful year for Great Britain in recent memory, with the girls’ silver medals adding to the golds won by the 14 & Under boys’ team on Saturday.
The memorable final brought to a close the 44th edition of the Winter Cups by Dunlop, which returned to the calendar after a two-year break due to the pandemic with a new-look, new presenting partner, and 128 participating teams.
Final Standings:
- Czech Republic
- Great Britain
- Sweden
- Turkiye
- Slovakia
- Belgium
- Poland
- Ukraine