Boys: 2016 European Summer Cups - U12/U14/U16/U18

DavidC · Tennis legend

Boys: 2016 European Summer Cups - U12/U14/U16/U18

DavidC · Tennis legend

The under 14 finals started today and GB were the only nation to defeat one of the 4 seeds, ousting second seeds Russia. As a result we qualify for the World Juniors and face a European Summer Cup semi against France tomorrow

U14 QF

GBR 2 (2)Russia 1

Barney Fitzpatrick beat Daniel Ibragimov 6-2 6-2
Benjamin Heynold lost to Nikita Kashirin 6-1 2-6 4-6
Fitzpatrick/Samuel beat Kapuskin/Kashirin 6-2 6-3

SF

GBR v (3)France

DavidC · Tennis legend

A battle royal taking place in the semis. Barney won comfortably but Benjamin narrowly lost out in the number one singles in a third set tiebreak after 3 hours and 20 minutes, so it is currently 1-1

DavidC · Tennis legend

Very close but a narrow defeat leaves them facing the Czech Republic again for third place

SF

GBR 1 (3)France 2

Barney Fitzpatrick beat Arthur Cazaux 6-2 6-4
Benjamin Heynold lost to Lilian Marmousez 2-6 7-5 6-7(5)
Fitzpatrick/Samuel lost to Marmousez/Mayot 5-7 6-2 [7-10]

DavidC · Tennis legend

In the 3rd/4th place match we did better than in the qualifying but still lost 2-1 to the Czech Republic, with Barney winning the second singles in 2 sets, Toby losing the top singles and Barney/Benjamin losing the doubles (both in straight sets)

DavidC · Tennis legend

The under 16s made a cracking start to their attempt to qualify for the final, which would give them a crack at Davis Cup qualification. The under 18s are seeded second in their group ,had a bye today and face Turkey tomorrow to qualify for their final

U16 Q QF

(3) GBR 3 Denmark 0

Ewen Lumsden won 6-1 6-1
Jake Hersey won 6-1 rtd
Jake Hersey/Aidan McHugh won 6-4 3-6 [10-8]

Q SF

(3) GBR v Poland

DavidC · Tennis legend

A bad day for the under 16s, who saw their Davis Cup dreams evaporate in what appeared on paper to be a winnable match

Q SF

(3) GBR 0 Poland 3

Ewen lost 0-6 6-7(1)
Jake lost 2-6 5-7
Doubles conceded

DavidC · Tennis legend

The under 18s won their delayed semifinal today to advance to the finals (Finn claiming a tough win over a top 50 player in the top singles), but then lost to Hungary (Mate Valkusz avenging last week's defeat by Finn) so will be unseeded in the finals

U18 Q SF

(2) GBR 2 (3) Turkey 0

Max Stewart beat Cengiz Aksu 6-3 7-6(3)
Finn Bass beat Ergi Kirkin 0-6 7-6(4) 6-2

U18 Q F

(1) Hungary 2 (2) GBR 0

Zsombo Piros beat Max Stewart 2-4 5-3 5-3
Mate Valkusz beat Finn Bass 4-2 4-1

DavidC · Tennis legend

The under 12s are midway through their qualifying competition, and opened with a good win over host nation France. They play Kosovo tomorrow, after which they will face a decisive match against one of the top two nations in the other group (assuming they don't lose 3-0 to Kosovo, which is unlikely given that France beat them 3-0 without dropping a single game)

DavidC · Tennis legend

The under 12 team of Samuel Reeve, Louis Davey and William Jansen dropped just 3 games to defeat Kosovo and win Group B. To qualify for the finals they need to beat Portugal (second in Group A) tomorrow

Spectator · All-time great

Beating France always seems a good sign. Has anyone seen any of them play?

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

They were all three on the livestream a while back in the French U12 Tennis Europe event (can't remember which one, doesn't matter, Auray maybe?).

I watched most of all of their matches (get a life, CD!).

Louis is a clever player, with a good serve and a slightly suspect forehand - enjoyed his matches, smart tennis. The best of the three, i think.

Sam Reeve also has a great serve and a very suspect forehand; tall lad, some nice elements there, work in progress.

William is a different sort - smaller/slighter lad, I think - left-handed - but neat player, quite dynamic, lots of wrist - again nice to watch.

Maybe others who've seen them live have a better take ?

DavidC · Tennis legend

Yes it was Auray. I usually watch any Brits in the later stages, but was busy this year. However some of the matches are still available, including the final between Cesar Bouchelaghem and Louis Davey ( www.youtube.com/watch ) Their rematch on Thursday went the same way.

William just edged the number two singles against France on a third set tiebreak, but suffered a similar fate against Portugal today. Louis won the top singles in 3, and paired up with Samuel for the decisive doubles, meaning we beat Portugal 2-1 and qualify for the finals later this week.

DavidC · Tennis legend

A tough day for the under 18s in the finals, losing 3-0 to second seeds France, with Alastair and Finn receiving bakery products from Geoffrey Blancaneaux and Corentin Moutet, so they will be playing for the minor places.

Ernie · Junior player

The French federation are taking this competition seriously by selecting their very best players. I'm curious why the LTA didnt do the same. Finn and Max are likely to be our strongest players next year but this year the LTA would have been wiser to select our strongest 98's, Jay, Ryan and possibly Ewan? as clay isn't Alastair's preferred surface.