For the first time in seven years, Australia will compete in the World Junior Tennis Finals boys’ 14/u category, following their second-place finish in Asia/Oceania qualification in Kuching, Malaysia.
Led by Novak Palombo, Sebastian Lavorato and Christopher Manton, a strong round-robin campaign put Australia in a commanding position to qualify as no player dropped a set throughout. With the top four teams progressing, a 2-1 victory over India in the quarterfinals helped secure qualification.
Despite losing to Japan 2-1 in the final, the team members enjoyed the experience of representing their country and ultimately qualifying for the Finals.
“It is a huge privilege to represent my country and qualify for the World Finals,” Lavorato said.
“The week was filled with ups and downs but to have my team support every time I stepped on the court really helped me to represent my country with pride.”
Palombo maintained a perfect record throughout the entire tournament, winning all eight of his matches in straight sets. Having already achieved plenty throughout his short junior career, the Victorian rates this accolade highly.
> RISING AUSSIES: Novak Palombo
“Qualifying for the World Junior Tennis Finals is a big achievement for me as I want to do my best for team Australia,” he said.
“The week was a great opportunity to compete with boys from other Asian countries.”
After representing his state of Victoria at the Australian Teams Championships last June, Manton was honoured to put his best foot forward for his country.
“Qualifying to me means a lot because it shows all the effort we have put in and it feels amazing to represent Australia,” he said.
“The week had a lot of different emotions for everyone but it was great we could all regulate and keep playing well.”
> RISING AUSSIES: Christopher Manton
The team will feature at the World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov, Czechia on 3-8 August as it aims to win the tournament for the first time since 2007.
Joey Swaysland and Jason Kubler lead Australia to a 2-0 victory against Czechia in the final of that campaign.
Meanwhile, the 14/u girls team narrowly missed out on qualification, finishing sixth in the Asia/Oceania sector.