Argentina hold nerve to shock top seeds and defending champions Italy
Argentina’s boys held their nerve during a decisive doubles showdown to spring a major surprise and dispatch top seeds and defending champions Italy on the opening day of the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov.
A gruelling encounter went the distance and Argentina were indebted to Benjamin Chelia and Dante Pagani as they overpowered Raffaele Ciurnelli and Antonio Marigliano 7-5 7-6(3) during a pulsating winner-takes-all showdown.
Italy had battled back from the brink after Chelia outmanoeuvred Salvatore Tartaglione 6-2 7-6 in the opening singles match, although Marigliano’s 6-3 5-7 6-4 defeat of Pagani in the second singles tussle proved something of a false dawn.
The knockout blow was administered by Chelia and Pagani and Argentina now have a wonderful opportunity to secure a top-two finish in Group A, which would ensure a place in the competition’s quarter-finals.
“I am incredibly proud of my boys,” Argentina captain Gonzalo Presson told itftennis.com. “The first match is never easy, it is always difficult and while our performance was not perfect, it was not the worst either.
“The team came here for the challenge and while it is only one match, they have so far risen to that challenge. We will take a huge amount of confidence and belief from beating the No. 1 seeds and a good team like Italy. We will take things step by step and hopefully grow into the competition.
“We always felt it was possible to win this tie, although we accept that we could also lose it, but there was a lot of confidence in this team that we would win and in the end we did. We showed Argentinian heart. Passion is in South American DNA, and we showed that.”
It is not all doom and gloom for Italy, however, and there is every chance they could still seal a place in the last eight and successfully defend the crown they secured here in Prostejov 12 months ago.
While their team is completely different to that crowned the world’s best in the 14-and-under age category this time last year, they topped the podium at European qualifying and will not relinquish their champion status without a fight. Tomorrow, however, is a big day.
Elsewhere, of the other seven ties in the boys’ draw, another three required doubles to settle matters, including the other showdown in Group A between Kazakhstan and Ecuador, which eventually went the way of the South Americans.
Emilio Camacho and Tito Chavez were the toast of Ecuador as they defeated Zangar Nurlanuly and Damir Zhalgasbay 6-3 6-3 to consign Kazakhstan, who were making their ITF World Junior Tennis Finals debut, to defeat.
The encounter between USA, who have been crowned ITF World Junior Tennis boys’ champions on six occasions, and Czech Republic also went to the wire, with Keaton Hance and Jack Kennedy prevailing in the doubles.
The final clash decided by doubles was a real humdinger as Se Hyuk Cho and Gyeom Do joined forces to ensure Korea, Republic made a winning start to their ITF World Junior Tennis Finals campaign at the expense of South Africa.
Elsewhere, there were victories for Bulgaria, Slovenia and Switzerland against Morocco, Japan and Colombia respectively, while the only 3-0 scoreline in the boys’ draw belonged to Germany, who thrashed Mexico. The groups will take further shape after tomorrow’s ties.
A full list of results from day one of the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals is available here.