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| 19 Aug 2002 | |
| Top seeds capture World Junior Tennis Title |
The Cesky Telecom World Junior Tennis finals came to a spectacular close in Prostejov on Saturday when number one seeds USA boys’ and The Netherlands girls’, were crowned champion nations for the first time in the history of the event. As torrential rain swept through central and eastern Europe, the host organisers at TK Prostejov, Czech Republic and competitors alike had their work cut out to overcome the adverse weather conditions during the week, but the sun finally shone on the final day.
It was an American dream come true for the US boys’ team, as they faced two time winners, Spain (2). In the opening rubber, however, a shaky start by Dylan Arnould allowed Spain’s Javier Garrapiz to take control and he demolished the young American in straight sets 62 63.
The US team turned to their number one player, Marcus Fugate, yet to concede a set in the finals, to bring them back into the match. The powerful American used his strength from the back of the court to overcome his opponent, Spanish number one, Roberto Bautista. A lively Spanish contingent turned out to try and lift Baustista, however, a number of unforced errors by the European U14 champion saw him lose the rubber 61 64.
With the all-important deciding doubles looming, the American captain, Greg Patton took the brave decision to replace his consistent doubles player, Jonathan Boym, with big-hitting Marcus Fugate. Fugate seemed out of sorts, but Arnould, having re-found his form, was solid at the net and cleverly intercepted the Spanish boys’ hard-hitting shots. Despite the best efforts of Roberto Bautista and Javier Ramos, Spain’s dream of winning the title for the third time was not realised as the US boys’ team took the match and the title 64 63.
US team captain, Greg Patton, delighted with the victory said, "We knew the Spanish wouldn’t be an easy walkover on clay, we basically had to change our usual game plan to have a chance of winning the title."
It was an all-European final in the girls’ event for the debutantes from the Netherlands and Poland, seeded one and two respectively. In the first singles rubber, Marta Lesniak kicked off the Polish challenge, but was overpowered by Bibiane Schoofs, losing the first set 75. Schoofs then capitalised on her one set lead with Dutch determination to see her flatten her opponent 63.
The Dutch number one player, Michaela Krajicek dominated the match from the opening game and was simply too strong for Magdalena Kiszczynska moving her all around the court to take the first set 61. Krajicek dropped her serve early in the second set, however she was able to break back immediately and stormed to a 41 lead. Although Magdalena displayed moments of excellence, she was not strong enough to prevent Krajiceck from taking the match 61 61 and the title for the Netherlands team. The Dutch girls’ went on to reinforce their win with a doubles victory, 46 63 26.
In the girls’ event, the play-off for third and fourth places brought together the defending champions, Czech Republic (3) and USA (4). The Czech girls’ team lost the opening rubber but clawed their way back into the tie, winning the second singles match and the all-important deciding doubles to finish in third place.
The play-off match in the boys’ event was an all-American showdown between Argentina (6) and unseeded Canada. Unfortunately, the Canadians were overwhelmed by the clay court skills of the South Americans who claimed the tie 20.
Commenting on the weeks’ finals, ITF Juniors & Vets Manager Jackie Nesbitt, said "It has been a difficult week with the rain delays, however the teams should be commended for the way they have coped with the conditions."
She went on to say, "The two winning nations from the USA and the Netherlands should be congratulated for their outstanding performance throughout the week culminating in two great finals."
Final Positions
Boys
Girls
1. USA (1)
Netherlands (1)
2. Spain (2)
Poland (2)
3. Argentina (6)
Czech Republic (3)
4. Canada
USA (4)
5. France (7)
Russia (6)
6. Morocco
China
7. India (8)
India
8. Russia (3)
Argentina (8)
9. Australia
Spain (7)
10. Belgium
France
11. Czech Republic (4)
Egypt
12. Brazil
Colombia
13. Colombia
Canada
14. Belurus (5)
Indonesia
15. Korea
Brazil
16. China
New Zealand
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