Neither team has dropped a point in their five wins this week, and the girls haven’t dropped a set in their 10 singles matches, although that streak was nearly broken today.
ITF Junior No. 1 Kristina Penickova, playing No. 2 singles this week, got past Tereza Hermanova 6-1, 6-1 in 45 minutes to give the US a 1-0 lead, but Julieta Pareja was locked in a tight battle with Sofie Hettlerova in her first set at No. 1 singles, with Hettlerova serving for the first set at 6-5. Hettlerova played No. 1 singles in place of Jana Kovackova, who had played the first four matches but was not nominated today. (Kovackova had also withdrawn from the ITF Junior Finals in China last month). However, Hettlerova could not hold on to that lead: Pareja broke and won the tiebreak 7-6(5) and the second set 6-1. The doubles match was not played.
In Sunday’s final, the girls will play No. 3 seed France, which defeated No. 6 seed Poland 3-0. The American girls are aiming for their fourth title in a row and are said to be on a seven-year winning streak, having also won the title in 2017, 2018 and 2019. They were denied a chance at a fourth consecutive title in 2021 when the USTA opted not to send teams to the competition that year due to Covid.
In the boys’ semifinal featuring No. 8 seed Turkey, Andrew Johnson defeated Samim Filiz 6-1, 6-2 in 44 minutes at the No. 2 singles position and Michael Antonius placed the match at No. 1 with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Kaan Isik Kosaner. Johnson and Jordan Lee teamed in doubles for a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
The American boys will face No. 4 Japan, which defeated unseeded Germany 3-0 today. Japan had lost to Turkey, the team the US crushed today, in group play; both finalists defeated Germany 3-0.
18-year-old Blanch defeated his third seed of the week today, all in straight sets, with a 6-4, 7-6(2) victory over Estonia’s Daniil Glinka. The 31-year-old Krueger, who has yet to drop a set this week, defeated Cedrik-Marcel Stebe from Germany 6-4, 6-1.
Blanch is playing in his first Challenger final, while it is the tenth for Krueger, who is 5-4 in the Challenger final. This will be their first meeting.
In the doubles competition in Knoxville, former Tennessee Volunteer Pat Harper of Australia defended his 2024 title, albeit with a new partner, with former teammate Johannus Monday withdrawing from this year’s tournament before play started. Unseeded Harper and Quinn Vandecasteele (Oregon) defeated No. 4 seeds Krueger and Antigua’s Jody Maginley 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 12-10 in today’s final. It is the fifth Challenger title for Harper, the 2021 NCAA doubles champion, and the second with a different partner than Monday. It is the first title in professional doubles at any level for Vandecasteele.
Top seeds Tim Ruehl (Arizona State, TCU) and Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) of Germany, who won the Charlottesville Challenger 75 title last week, claimed the East Lansing championship with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Gogineni and Clemson senior Romain Gales of France.
Eighteen-year-old Max Exsted won his third Pro Circuit doubles title, all since September, teaming with former Auburn standout William Nolan of Great Britain. The top seeds, playing together for the first time, defeated the unseeded team of Colby and Noah Zamora (UC-Irvine) 6-4, 7-6(3). Exsted, the 2025 Kalamazoo 18s champion, has won seven titles in junior and pro competition this year, all with different partners.
Sixteen-year-old Thea Frodin and 15-year-old Welles Newman fell just short of the doubles title in Orlando, losing to Samantha Alicea (Arizona State, Nebraska) and Malkia Ngounoue (Kansas) 6-1, 6-7(5), 11-9.
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