The first of the European Summer Cups, the under 14s, concluded qualifying today for the finals, as the tournament acts as a qualifier for the World Juniors in August. The draws for these are something of a lottery, and unfortunately we ended up in a group where we add to face one of the four strongest nations in Europe according to current rankings in order to qualify. This proved beyond the team of Kylie Bilchev, Emma Raducanu and Amarni Banks (our top u14 Holly Fischer is playing her first ITF tournaments in the Caribbean). They beat Greece 3-0, but lost critically to Slovakia 3-0 before beating Sweden 3-0 for third place (only two qualify for the finals)
The second age group to hold qualifications was the under 12s, finishing yesterday. Qualifying groups are divided into round robin sections of 4 (which we won, beating all 3 other nations - Estonia, Croatia and Belgium) but qualifying depends on one match where the top nation in one group plays the second in the other group. As a result we played Netherlands in the decisive match. Hannah Smith lost easily before Leah Gonzales Edwards saved 4 matchpoints to level the match with a 6-2 5-7 7-5 win. The pair combined to win the doubles 6-3 6-3 to reach the finals in a fortnight's time. Alexandra McDonald is the other member of the squad
Qualifying started today for the under 16s and under 18s. The under 16 summer cup is a qualifier for the Fed Cup and the British team had a stroke of fortune when there was a late withdrawal from the Italian team which meant we were promoted to second seed in our group (in Newcastle). This meant we couldn't be drawn against the top seeds Russia (who with the ITF under 18 top 2 - Pervushina and Potapova - are incredibly strong) in the first two matches which decide qualification for the Summer Cup final. Even so they only just edged their way past Israel today.
U16 Q QF
GBR 2 Israel 1
Eliz Maloney lost 6-7(4) 1-6
Nell Miller won 6-4 7-6(2)
Francesca Jones/Nell Miller won 3-6 6-3 [10-6]
The under 18 team of Emily Appleton, Eden Richardson and Georgina Axon are seeded 2 in their qualifying group and lead Greece 1-0 after Eden double bagelled her hapless opponent
The under 16s have secured their place in the finals after a comfortable win over Slovakia, though puzzling that Fran hasn't played any singles this week - perhaps she has a niggle which is restricting her to doubles action. Inevitably they play Russia for seeding rights
U16 SF
(4) Slovakia 0 (2) GBR 2
Eliz won 6-0 7-5
Nell won 6-3 6-3
Doubles not played
The under 18s had no difficulty swatting Greece aside, but are playing tougher opposition today in Moldova, and Emily will have to beat a former top 25 Junior to keep us in with a chance of reaching the finals
U18 Q QF
Greece 0 (2) GBR 3
Eden Richardson won 6-0 6-0
Emily Appleton won 6-1 6-2
Emily Appleton/Georgina Axon won 6-2 6-2
Q SF
Eden Richardson lost to Adriana Sosnovschi 7-6(6) 4-6 0-6
Emily Appleton v Anastasia Detiuc
In the under 16s the girls gave a walkover to Russia, so presumably two of the three were unable to play, hopefully as a precautionary measure with the finals next week. To qualify for the Junior Fed Cup we need to finish in the top 5 at the finals in Budapest
Yes - took me by surprise as I thought the finals started on Wednesday, but the QFs were today. We got a good draw against fourth seeds Ukraine and won 2-1. Eliz lost 4-6 6-7(4) Nell won 2-6 6-4 6-2 and the two combined to take the doubles 6-2 7-6(6).
U16 SF
GBR v (2) Poland
The Poles include world no.21 Iga Swiatek, one of 5 2001s in the top 25, but regardless of the result we will be in the Junior Fed Cup
Fran didn't play singles today, but was forced to play the doubles after Eliz retired (perhaps with the same problem that forced the concession of a walkover to Russia last week). Eliz was 5-1 down at the time, and the talented Swiatek made short work of Nell (0 & 2), but Fran and Nell gave a good account in the doubles, losing 12-10 in the match tiebreak. We play a strong Czech Republic team tomorrow for third/fourth place while Poland play Russia, who have unsurprisingly won all their matches 3-0, for the title
Fran finally made her singles bow, enforced by the absence of Eliz, but could make no impression on Lucie Kankova, going down 6-1 6-2. Nell had previously lost the second singles 6-4 6-4, so a 2-0 defeat means we finish 4th. Russia duly saw off Poland 2-0 to take the trophy.
The finals for the under 12s started today, but it has been a struggle for our girls going down 3-0 to Belarus in the round-robin group. Hannah lost 6-2 6-1, Leah 6-3 6-1 and Leah/Alexandra 6-3 7-6(4) Live scores are available at www.tennisticker.de/fra/sb.html