Russian teams scooped both boys’ and girls’ titles at the inaugural edition of the 12 & Under Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD.
Having breezed through the qualifying rounds at home in Ufa by winning ties against Belgium, Hungary and Slovakia without the loss of a single set, the girls’ team went on to repeat the feat at the final rounds in Sheffield (GBR), brushing aside Germany and Slovenia to set up a final against the Czech Republic.
The Czechs could be forgiven for being tired after a heroic semi-final win over Ukraine which lasted over 7 hours and saw a thrilling deciding doubles match end with a 9-7 final set victory.
By contrast, the final was over quickly. Olesya Pervishina put the Russians up 1-0 with a 6-1 6-3 win over Anna Kynclova. Tatiana Makarova survived a tense second set to seal the championship with a 6-0 7-5 victory over Lucie Kankova before Pervushina teamed with Anastasia Potapova to beat Kankova and Sabina Drabkova for the loss of just two games to complete a 3-0 sweep.
At the boy’s finals in Roznov pod Radhostem (CZE), the Russian team almost fell to the Czech Republic in the semi-finals, coming back in style to win the deciding doubles rubber of their semi-final 4-6 7-6(1) 6-2. On the other side of the draw, Switzerland had advanced with ease, posting 3-0 wins over Ukraine and Italy to reach the final.
The final showdown was a repeat of the qualifying final in Ufa. On that occasion the Russian had blasted past the Swiss 3-0, losing just five games in total in the two singles matches. The final result would be the same, though the Swiss put up a sterner challenge this time. Nikolay Vylegzhanin was made to work hard by Damien Wenger to secure the first point 6-4 6-3, before Alen Avidzba was able to clinch the trophy with an almost identical 6-4 6-2 win over Mischa Lanz.
Hosts Czech Republic beat Italy 2-1 to take the bronze medals in the boys' competition, while Ukraine came from behind to beat Slovenia by the same score to claim bronze in the girls' event.
The Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD is the biggest indoor team competition in tennis, and in 2012 is bigger than ever, featuring 170 national teams across three age categories. The integration of the 12 & Under age group came in response to popular demand from European federations and saw 55 teams take part.
The 14 and 16 & under finals will be held next weekend (17-19 February). All the latest draws and results can be found here.
Photos, plus full draws and results from the 12 & Under competition can be found here.