U.S. Finishes 2nd, 4th at 2016 Junior Fed and Davis Cup Finals Tennis

Sebastian Korda

The U.S. Junior Fed Cup team, led by Amanda Anisimova (15, Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.; Coaches: Konstantin and Olga Anisimova, Erik Kortland, Nick Saviano), and the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team, led by Sebastian Korda (16, Bradenton, Fla.; Coaches: Petr Korda, Leo Azevedo), son of former Australian Open champion Petr Korda, finished second and fourth respectively at the Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals, held Sept. 27-Oct. 2, 2016 on red clay courts in Budapest, Hungary.

The U.S. and Russia were the only countries to advance to the semifinals in both the Junior Fed Cup Finals and the Junior Davis Cup Finals. Each Junior Fed Cup and Junior Davis Cup tie consists of three matches, two singles and one doubles, with a team needing to win at least two of three matches to claim the tie.

The American girls went 9-0 in individual matches, rolling to a 3-0 record in pool play to advance to the semifinals. They then swept Japan 3-0 in the semis to extend that record to 12-0. In the final they narrowly lost 2-1 to Poland.

After splitting the two singles matches, the final came down to the decisive doubles, where Maja Chwalinska and Iga Swiatek defeated Americans Claire Liu and Caty McNally to clinch the victory for Poland.

The Junior Davis Cup boys won 2-1 in pool play, then fell 2-1 in the semifinals to Canada. In the semis, American Sangeet Sridhar won his match at No. 2 singles to force the decisive doubles, which the U.S. lost in a match tiebreak 5-7, 6-2, 10-5. The Americans then dropped the third-place match to Argentina 2-1.

The Team USA boys’ squad was led by Korda, Keenan Mayo and Sridhar, though Mayo injured his ankle during the event, leaving Korda and Sridhar to play both singles and doubles for all but the team’s first tie against Switzerland.

The Junior Davis Cup and Jr. Fed Cup Finals featured 16 teams each, with the winners of each of the four pools advancing to the semifinal round and competing for the 2016 championship. Teams advanced to the Finals through regional qualifying.

For complete tournament information go to www.itftennis.com/juniors/team-competitions/jdc-jfc-by-bnp-paribas.aspx.