Russia and Great Britain are the new champions of the 12 & Under Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD after coming through contrasting battles on the final day of the second edition of the competition.
Russia’s second successive victory in the girls’ competition was particularly emphatic. The team breezed through the qualifying competition with 3-0 wins over Finland, Austria and Great Britain and then picked up where they left off at the finals in Sheffield, scoring 3-0 wins over Switzerland and Czech Republic to reach the final. Serbia had been made to work a bit harder, surviving a final doubles match with Turkey in the first round before ousting Romania in the semifinals.
Ekaterina Makarova has been one of the dominant players on the 12 & Under circuit in recent months, winning four of her last five tournaments, and duly opened the tie with a 6-3 6-0 win over Ksenija Tmusic to give the Russians an early advantage. She was followed on to court by Anastasia Potapova – coincidentally the only player to have beaten her during that period – who took just under 45 minutes to beat Olga Danilovic 6-1 6-1. Makarova was then joined by Sofia Epur to complete yet another 3-0 win for Russia, conceding just one game to Danilovic & Tmusic to complete the defence of the title.
The final of the boys’ event in Roznov pod Radhostem (CZE) was a much closer battle, with Great Britain having to come from behind to become the first-ever non-Russian winners of this new age category of the competition.
The Brits had opened their campaign with 3-0 wins over Hungary, Ukraine, Austria, and Poland before conceding a dead doubles match in the semifinal against Belarus. Their Serbian opponents had served notice of their intent by winning their qualifying group in Kazan (RUS) by defeating the hosts and defending champions 3-0 in the final match, following wins over Romania and Finland.
The Serbs had high hopes of going one better than the girls’ team when Kristijan Juhas maintained his unbeaten run at the final rounds to beat Jack Draper in the first rubber. After a close first set, the Serb swept through the tie break without conceding a single point, and continued in the manner in the second set, wrapping up the match with a 7-6(0) 6-0 scoreline.
Jacob Fearnley then leveled the tie, maintaining his own unbeaten record in the competition with a hard fought 6-3 7-6(2) win over Mihailo Popovic which lasted just under two hours.
With the score at 1-1, the four players returned to the court to play the first ever deciding doubles rubber in a 12 & Under Winter Cups final. Draper & Fearnley took control of the match towards the end of the first set, breaking for a 7-5 lead and consolidating early in the second before sealing a 7-5 6-3 win.
Both teams will be hoping to add to their Winter Cups tallies at the final rounds of the 14 and 16 & Under events next weekend. Great Britain and Russia were the only two nations to qualify for the final rounds in all six categories of the competition.
Boys 12 & Under Finals
Roznov pod Radhostem (CZE) | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos
Final Standings
1. Great Britain, 2. Serbia, 3. Belarus, 4. Czech Republic, 5. Netherlands, 6. Poland, 7. Russia, 8. Austria
Girls 12 & Under Finals
Sheffield (GBR) | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
Final Standings
1. Russia, 2. Serbia, 3. Czech Republic, 4. Romania, 5. Turkey, 6. Switzerland, 7. Moldova, 8. Great Britain