Flying Finns and super Swedes lead Nordic charge in Prostejov
Sweden and Finland lead the Nordic charge for glory at the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals after both their boys’ teams booked spots in the quarter-finals of the 14 & under international team competition which is taking place this week in Czech Republic.
Sweden, who last played in the competition in 1996, finished runners-up in Group 1 after defeating No. 7 seeds Colombia and Spain and narrowly losing 2-1 to top seeds Italy. They will play No. 5 seeds Russia on Thursday in their quarter-final tie.
“It’s been a great week so far. We had a tough draw with a lot of difficult tennis nations like Spain, Italy and Colombia so we are really pleased to reach the quarter-finals. I’ve been really impressed with the boys this week and extra pleased with their positive energy, even the players who aren’t playing have been very supportive,” said Christian Samuelsson, Sweden’s boys’ captain.
“This result is very good for Nordic tennis. Nordic tennis hasn’t been that good for the last 10-15 years but now it’s on the rise with Casper Ruud, Emil Ruusuvuori and the Ymer brothers. This is also a very good sign with two countries doing so well in the under 14s, it means we have a good future I think.”
Finland have also been on flying form this week, their team of Felix Alopaeus, Linus Lagerbohm and Oskari Paldanius proving too strong for No. 6 seeds Japan and Mexico to book their spot in the quarter-finals. The trio narrowly lost out to No. 3 seeds Switzerland on Wednesday and will face No. 2 seeds Czech Republic in their final eight clash on Thursday.
“It’s a special day for us. It means a lot because it’s historic for Finland, it’s the first time they’ve achieved the quarter-finals and by that they open a new standard for the next generation of Finnish players. I’m really proud we have this result and I hope we still continue and improve the results, not just being in the play-offs but we can fight for the medals because we have a very good team for that,” said Finnish boys’ captain Boris Chernov.
The two remaining boys’ quarter-finals will see top seeds Italy take on Egypt, who have also broken new ground by reaching the quarter-finals in Prostejov for the first time, and No. 3 seeds Switzerland will face Germany.
The top four seeds in the girls’ event are still in with the chance of lifting the trophy on Saturday after they all progressed through the group stages.
Russia continued their imperious form, easing past No. 8 seeds Japan 3-0 in their final round-robin tie. The top seeded team, who are comprised of Mirra Andreeva, sister of Junior Roland Garros finalist Erika Andreeva, Alina Korneeva, the European U14 champion, and Daria Egorova, have yet to lose a match so far this week but will face a tough battle against No. 7 seeds Canada.
The Czech girls’ remain on course to defend their title and will take on Ukraine for a place in the last four while No. 3 seeds Slovakia will play Japan and No. 2 seeds Bulgaria will meet Korea Republic.
The remaining teams will play-off over the last three days of the competition to establish positional places.