Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup teams reach final
UPDATE: Australia's Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup teams will travel to Mexico for September's finals after both came through their Asia/Oceania qualifying events.
Gimcheon, South Korea, 29 April 2013 | tennis.com.au
Australia’s Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup teams have both come through their Asia/Oceania zonal competitions to qualify for September’s final in Mexico.
Playing in the Final Qualifying event in Gimcheon, South Korea, the Junior Fed Cup team of Olivia Tjandramulia, Naiktha Bains and Kimberly Birrell swept aside the competition to finish in first place, snaring one of the three finals places designated for Asia/Oceania nations.
It was rewarding to see the girls enjoying themselves despite a long and stressful week of competition,” captain Louise Pleming commented.
“Each of the team members brought their own strengths and each player made a difference in every match. The way that the girls backed each other up and a maintained a great attitude I believe was instrumental in winning the title.
“I was extremely proud of the girls and the way they handled themselves at all times.”
Australia had secured its finals’ berth thanks to its 2-0 defeat of New Zealand in the semifinals, with Tjandramulia and Bains each cruising to victory in straight sets in the singles rubbers.
And they iced their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Korea in the play-off for first place – Tjandramulia again came through in the singles, and after a disappointing loss in a third-set tiebreak in her singles match, Bains rebounded to partner Tjandramulia in the decisive doubles rubber and capture the tie.
“It was great to play the top girls from Asia/Oceania region. It was very fun to have Louise captain our team. She contributed to making it a worthwhile experience, I loved everyday playing,” Bains reflected.
“I gained a lot of experience and confidence throughout the week. I look forward to the opportunity to play in Mexico,” Tjandramulia added.
Meanwhile, the Aussie Junior Davis Cup team of Oliver Anderson, Marc Polmans and Akira Santillan will also travel to San Luis Potosi in Mexico for September’s final after finishing third in the Final Qualifying competition.
Having beaten New Zealand 2-0 in the quarterfinals, Australia then fell to Japan in the semifinals after Anderson and Polmans both lost tight battles with their Japanese opponents.
But they made amends in the play-off for third place, beating India 2-0 when Anderson dominated Vishu Prasad in his singles match and then Santillan came through a tough singles match against Garvit Batra to cement victory for the green-and-gold.
The finals in Mexico will be staged on 24-29 September.
JUNIOR DAVIS CUP
Quarterfinals – Australia d New Zealand 2-0
Oliver Anderson (AUS) d Connor Heap (NZL) 6-2 6-2
Marc Polmans (AUS) d Kyle Butters (NZL) 6-2 7-6(5)
Doubles not played
Semifinals – Japan d Australia 2-0
Sora Fukuda (JPN) d Oliver Anderson (AUS) 5-7 6-4 [10-7]
Yusuke Takahashi (JPN) d Marc Polmans (AUS) 6-4 7-5
Doubles not played
Third place play-off – Australia d India 2-0
Oliver Anderson (AUS) d Vishu Prasad (IND) 6-0 6-1
Akira Santillan (AUS) d Garvit Batra (IND) 6-1 4-6 7-5
Doubles not played
JUNIOR FED CUP
Semifinals – Australia d New Zealand 2-0
Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS) d Rosie Cheng (NZL) 6-4 6-2
Naiktha Bains (AUS) d Page Hourigan (NZL) 6-2 6-4
Doubles not played
First place play-off – Australia d Korea 2-1
Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS) d Yu Jin Ahn (KOR) 6-4 6-3
Dabin Kim (KOR) d Naiktha Bains (AUS) 2-6 6-3 7-6(5)
Naiktha Bains/Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS) d Yu Jin Ahn/Dabin Kim (KOR) 6-4 3-6 6-1