Spain and Russia have been crowned as the new 14 & Under European Summer Cups champions after a record-breaking week of competition that saw 70 national teams in action.
Spain made the most of a home advantage to cruise through their final Copa del Sol match against Croatia in Murcia. The opening rubber was a battle between two of the most successful players on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour so far this season, with European #8 Nicolas Alvarez Varona taking on #12 Duje Ajdukovic for the third time since January.
The Croatian won their first meeting indoors in Bolton, but Alvarez Varona gained a quick revenge at the Winter Cups three weeks later. History repeated when the pair met for a second time in a European team event, with the Spaniard scoring a 6-4 7-5 win to put the hosts ahead.
Carlos Gimeno Valero then became the hero of the Spanish team, conceding just five games in the second match against Stipan Madzar to secure the Cup and give Spain a fourth Copa del Sol title overall. A dead doubles rubber was also played, and saw Alvarez Varona joined by Pedro Vives Marcos to beat Ajdukovic & Madzar to complete a 3-0 sweep with a 6-2 6-2 win.
The Spanish team went undefeated at the final rounds, adding 3/0 wins over Switzerland and France to victories over Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary in the qualifying competition.
At the girls’ Europa Cup finals in Loano, Russia won a record ninth title thanks to a 2/0 win over 2013 champions the Czech Republic.
Both singles matches were tight affairs, with the Russians weathering second set fightbacks to score three-set victories. Vlada Koval did well to extend her Summer Cups win/loss record to 5/1 with a 6-4 2-6 6-4 win over Ivana Sebestova in the first match before European #2 Taisya Pachkaleva took on #12 Vanesa Nikolovova, matching the result of her team-mate with a 7-6(1) 4-6 6-0 win.
Russia had been unseeded at the final rounds, having suffered a surprising loss in their last qualifying match against Italy, who fell to the Czech Republic in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Both the boys’ and girls’ events saw a record 35 nations entered, with special pre-qualifying events held in Alleur (BEL, boys) and Rakovik (CZE, girls).
The 14 & Under Summer Cups also serve as the European qualifying event for the ITF World Junior Tennis competition, the finals of which will be held in Prostejov (CZE) in early August. As hosts, the Czech Republic automatically qualifies for the boys’ and girls’ competition, alongside the teams highlighted in red below.
Final Standings
Boys 14 & Under:
1. Spain
2. Croatia
3. France
4. Poland
5. Russia
6. Romania
7. Belarus
8. Switzerland
Results: Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos
Girls 14 & Under:
1. Russia
2. Czech Republic
3. Poland
4. Italy
5. Romania
6. Hungary
7. Spain
8. Great Britain
Results: Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos