The U.S. boys’ and girls’ teams pulled off a historic feat at the World Junior Tennis Finals, each winning the 14-and-under version of Fed Cup and Davis Cup, in Prostejov, Czech Republic, Aug. 4-9. It is the first time in the history of the event that one country has captured both titles.
The girls’ team successfully defended its 2007 title, while the boys’ team won the championship for the first time since 2003.
The U.S. teams qualified for the World Group Finals in May at the North/Central American & Caribbean Regional Championships. The boys’ and girls’ divisions each had 16 nations thta were split into groups of four, with round-robin play used to determine the semifinalists.
The fifth-seeded U.S. girls’ team dominated its round-robin group, beating Serbia and the Czech Republic, 3-0, before defeating China, the No. 3 seed, 2-1. They defeated Belgium, 2-1, in the semifinals and in the final beat No. 4 Great Britain, 2-1, coming back from a set down in the deciding doubles match to repeat as champions.
The U.S. World Junior Tennis girls’ team went 12-3 in singles and doubles. Grace Min (Lawrenceville, Ga.), a top-10 player in the USTA Girls’ 14s, 16s and 18s rankings, led the team with an 8-2 overall record (4-1 at No. 1 singles). Reigning 2008 USTA Girls’ 14s Clay Court Champion Kyle McPhillips (Willoughby, Ohio) went 7-1 (3-0 singles), and Sachia Vickery (Miramar, Fla.) went 1-1 in two singles matches for the U.S.
The top-seeded U.S. boys’ team went 3-0 in round-robin play, posting wins over Australia, South Africa and Croatia to advance to the semifinals, where they defeated India, 3-0. In the final against France, the U.S. easily captured all three matches in straight sets, only once surrendering four games in any set.
Individually, the boys on the U.S. World Junior Tennis team posted a 13-2 record. The U.S. squad was led by the only member from the United States' 2007 third-place team, Christian Harrison (New Braunfels, Texas), who posted an 8-1 overall record (4-0 at No. 1 singles). Tyler Gardiner (Novi, Mich.) went 5-1 in six matches (4-1 in doubles), and reigning USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Champion Alexios Halebian (Glendale, Calif.) went 4-1 in five singles matches for the U.S.
It is the third boys’ championship in this event for the United States, which became the first nation to win consecutive World Junior Tennis boys’ titles in 2003, led by Donald Young.
Former U.S. junior international team members include James Blake, Jennifer Capriati, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Lindsay Davenport, Taylor Dent, Mardy Fish, Robby Ginepri, Ashley Harkleroad, Lisa Raymond, Andy Roddick and Chanda Rubin.