Denmark and Ukraine have each won their first ever Tennis Europe Winter Cups by HEAD titles after both teams posted wins over Great Britain on the final day of the 12 & Under category of the competition.
The boys’ final in Veska (CZE) turned out to be a repeat of the final match of the qualifying group in Istanbul, in which Denmark beat Great Britain 2/1. On this occasion, the Danish team breezed past their British opponents by scoring straight sets wins in each of the opening singles matches. Elmer Moller scored an impressive win over Jack Pinnington Jones. Having had to come from a set down to win a two hour-fifteen match in Turkey, Moller conceded just three games to beat 6-1 6-2 in just an hour of play to give the Danes a 1-0 lead. Holger Rune followed up in style, securing a historic win for his country with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Derrick Chen.
The Danes had been in fine form throughout the competition, winning their qualifying group and then defeating Poland and hosts Czech Republic in the quarter and semi-finals. The Czechs claimed the bronze medals with a 2/0 win over France.
The girls’ finals in Sunderland (GBR) saw Ukraine cap a flawless weekend, completing their third consecutive 3/0 win in the competition to end the hopes of the host nation and reverse the result of the final qualifying match in Tallinn a fortnight ago.
Lyubov Kostenko opened the tie with a straightforward 6-2 6-2 win over Kylie Bilchev. The second match went to the wire and saw Dasha Lopatetskaya recover from the brink of defeat to outlast Holly Fischer 1-6 7-6(4) 6-3. Kostenko was then joined by Kateryna Rublevska for the doubles against Bilchev and Andrea Pineda, but the Brits were forced to retire after losing the first set.
Ukraine’s performances in winning the event for the first time were remarkable all weekend. The team ended the hopes of defending champions Czech Republic in the opening match and conceded their only set in a 3/0 win over 2012-2013 champions Russia in the semi-finals.
Established in 1977, the Winter Cups by HEAD have become the sport’s biggest indoor team competition, with over 150 national teams in action this year across the three age groups. This was the fourth edition of the 12 & Under competition, which was introduced in 2012.
Next weekend sees the final rounds of the 14 and 16 & Under categories of the competition.
Draws and Results
Boys - Veska (CZE) | Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos | Facebook
Girls - Sunderland (GBR) | Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos