17 August 2012 | Tennis Australia

They may be out of contention for the overall titles but the boys’ and girls’ Australian teams are still fighting it out for places at the World Junior Tennis Finals.

Overnight the unseeded Australian boys’ team of Oliver Anderson, Brian Tran and Max Purcell defeated eighth seeds Great Britain 2-1.

Purcell was too strong for Samuel Ferguson, winning in straight sets 6-4 6-2.

The British team squared the tie at 1-1 when Jay Clarke beat Anderson 6-4 6-3, setting up a live doubles rubber. The match was a hard-fought affair that lasted more than two hours before Anderson and Purcell triumphed 4-6 6-4 7-5.

The Australian boys’ team will now face France tomorrow to battle it out for ninth spot.

In the girls’ event, the third-seeded Australians defeated top seeds the United States 2-1. Sara Tomic got the Aussies off to a strong start with a 6-3 6-3 win over Emma Higuchi before Tornado Alicia Black struck back for the US with a hard-fought 6-1 5-7 6-0 win over Priscilla Hon. In the deciding doubles match Kimberly Birrell and Hon came back from a set down to defeat Higuchi and Nicole Frenkel 5-7 6-3 6-2.

The Australian girls will face sixth seeds China for fifth place.

> View the draws on the ITF’s website