U.S. boys, girls into knockouts at Jr. Davis, Fed Cup

After three days of round-robin play at the Junior Davis and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals, the knockout rounds are set at the USTA National Campus. In each competition, 16 nations competed in four four-team groups for the right to advance to the quarterfinal stage, set for Friday. The top two teams in each group advanced, while the third- and fourth-place teams entered a loser's bracket. 

Both American teams were flawless in singles play, combining to win all 24 sets across a combined 12 matches. The No. 2-seeded girls were also perfect in doubles, while the top-seeded boys dropped a pair of dead doubles rubbers to Team Canada on Day 1 and Great Britain on Day 3. (Each tie consists of two singles matches and one doubles match; with the American teams sweeping singles in each tie, the doubles matches were essentially exhibitions or practice matches.)

The American captains—Philippe Oudshoorn for the boys and Jamea Jackson for the girls—mixed up their lineups in group play, with each of their three players getting the singles nod twice. Katrina Scott led the line for Jackson, notching No. 1 singles wins against Brazil (def. Juliana Cotrim Munhoz) and No. 5 Thailand (def. Pimrada Jattavapornvanit). Damm also took care of business at the top spot, scoring victories over Canada (def. Marko Stakusic) and No. 5 Great Britain (def. Lui Maxted) for the boys.

The doubles tandem of Connie Ma and Robin Montgomery won both of their matches (Montgomery and Scott won on Day 2 over Korea), while Damm and Toby Kodat—who recently made history by becoming the youngest US Open men's doubles winners in the Open era—dropped a match tiebreak to Canada on Day 1 in their only appearance together. Kodat and Dali Blanch partnered to top Bolivia in straight sets on Day 2, but later lost to Great Britain in a match tiebreak to close out group play.

While captains are free to adjust their singles and doubles starters, the lineups used by both captains throughout group play may tip their hand for the knockout rounds. For the girls, the singles order goes (1) Scott, (2) Ma, (3) Montgomery; while the boys' lineup is (1) Damm, (2) Kodat, (3) Blanch. Of course, only two singles players can compete in a given tie, and with the talent on offer from all six American juniors, the captains may continue to rotate even in the money rounds.

Each day of the event has been featured on Tennis Channel, which will air more than 20 hours of live national linear coverage throughout the event. The U.S. victories on Day 1 (boys) and Day 2 (girls) were both featured ties. Continued coverage of the knockout rounds will begin at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Live streaming, scores and full schedules are available on the USTA National Campus Junior Davis and Fed Cup homepage. For more information, visit the ITF website.

Highlights can be found on the USTA's Twitter page.

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