Semi-finals day in Orlando. From the 91 Junior Davis Cup teams which began this journey, now only four remained.

France would play USA and Japan would play Serbia in two thrilling contests pitching together some of the world’s finest junior talent.

For the French team, the day began well, Mehdi Sadaoui looked at the peak of his powers as he dispatched Dali Blanch 6-2 6-2 amid humid conditions in Orlando.

The two team’s top players, Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard and Martin Damm were called to the court and readied for action, only to be told that due to severe humidity, all play was suspended for the next hour.

Such an interlude played out well for the USA, with crowd numbers swelling to watch the battle of the big servers take place and Damm returned to the court an hour later to the backing of a vocal home crowd.

The left-hander showed no signs of fatigue following his gruelling semi-final match the day previously, defeating Mpetshi-Perricard 6-4 6-4 and setting up a second tie deciding doubles match in as many days for the hosts.

The deciding doubles was a tightly contested fixture, with both nations putting on a fine display of deft net play combined with powerful serving. However, it was the USA who were to come out victorious with Damm and Toby Kodat triumphing over Mpetshi-Perricard and Max Westphal 3-6 6-3 12-10.

USA will face Japan in tomorrow’s final who include Junior Wimbledon boys’ singles champion, and current World Junior No.2, Shintaro Mochizuki as their top player.

Mochizuki looked in inspired form today as he dismantled Serbia No.1 Hamad Medjedovic 6-1 6-3, clawing the Japanese back into the tie after Kokoro Isomura had earlier lost out to Serbia’s Stefan Popovic 6-4 7-6(4).

The Japanese have consistently proved themselves to be a strong doubles team over the past week and today was to be no different. Mochizuki and Yamato Sueoka looked every bit the complete pairing as they hustled their way past Medjedovic and Popovic 7-5 6-2, prompting wild celebrations from the travelling Japanese contingent.

Following on from the doubles, Japanese captain Ko Iwamoto - who was captain last time Japan won the trophy - was full of hope for his side as he looked towards the final. “It feels great, my boys deserved this today,” said Iwamoto “the last time we won this event was 10 years ago, so I hope we can win tomorrow. It’ll be huge for the kids.”

“Our No.1 player Shintaro massively helps our team. He already has his game so I let him play, I try to take a step back but of course I also try to motivate them.”

Speaking to ITFtennis.com, Mochizuki himself painted a humble character, claiming that he was still in disbelief at his nation’s progress. “It doesn’t feel like we just won the semi-final,” admitted Mochizuki “last year we were fifth and lost in the quarters, this year our goal was to reach the semi finals and so to win today was a surprise.”

When asked about some of the stars of today who have previously lifted the Junior Davis Cup trophy, such as Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt and Denis Shapovalov, Mochizuki would not be drawn, instead pointing to the fun he’d had this week whilst also highlighting that it’s another piece of the bigger picture for him.

“I really like it here. It’s always fun being with my teammates. It’s a great experience but I need to keep looking ahead to the future. Just because you win here doesn’t make you an ATP top 10 player.”

In the Junior Fed Cup, hosts USA saw off the challenge of sixth seeds Germany in style. Connie Ma wasted little time in setting her nation on the right path, beating Nastasja Schunk 6-3 6-2 before Katrina Scott took to the court against Mara Guth.

In a match played out on the show court, both players looked at home on the clay, with baseline exchanges frequently lasting well over 10 shots. Guth battled away and at times looked like she had the beating of the American but eventually Scott showed her class, battling hard to defeat Guth 6-3 6-4.

The USA will play Czech Republic in the Junior Fed Cup final after the Czech’s pulled off a sensational comeback to dump No1. seeds Russia out of the draw and put themselves in with a chance of the top prize.

It looked business as usual for the Russians, who have looked unconquerable at times this week, as Polina Kudermetova raced to a straight sets victory over Barbora Palicova 6-4 6-2.

This idea was further reinforced when Oksana Selekhmeteva took the first set 6-3 against Linda Noskova and looked firmly in control of the match.

However, the Czech No.1 was not finished. Finding some of her best tennis of the week, Noskova took the second set 6-0 before delivering a ruthless performance in the final set, taking it 6-2 and drawing her nation level in the tie.

The resulting doubles was a battle until the very end and it came as no surprise to spectators when the score was tied at a set all following a first set masterclass by Noskova and Palicova before Selekhmeteva and Kudermetova turned the tables in the second set.

However, it was the Czech Republic who would have the final laugh on this contest, Noskova and Palicova finding another gear in the tiebreak to take the match 6-3 3-6 10-8.

Speaking after the match, captain Daniel Vanek could barely contain his delight for his players, telling ITFTennis.com “I am a little bit speechless. The first match didn’t go so well and Russia deserved it. However, the second match shocked me, Oksana Selekhmeteva played so well but my player (Linda Noskova) showed such great spirit and stamina. She was amazing.”

“I believed they could do it, Russia didn’t give up but we had enough. Tomorrow will be a special moment playing the USA at home. We are full of confidence.”

To catch up on the full set of results from Day 5 in Orlando, click below:

Junior Davis Cup

Junior Fed Cup