U.S. Boys Fall Short
The top-seeded U.S. girls secured a dominant 3-0 win over fourth-seeded China in the quarterfinals of the annual 14-and-under team event in Prostejov, Czechia, advancing to the semifinals with ease. Anna Kapanadze and Isha Manchala provided the crucial singles victories that sealed the outcome.
At No. 2 singles, Kapanadze handed Yanke Wang a 6-2, 6-2 defeat. Manchala followed up with a resilient comeback win over Jinyu Zhou in the top singles position, coming from behind in the second set before taking the third 6-1 for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision. Doubles play was abbreviated, likely because the U.S. had already clinched the match, with Kapanadze and Nadia Poznick defeating Wang and Xinran Yan 4-0, 4-2.
The U.S. boys, seeded sixth, were edged out 2-1 by third-seeded Australia in their quarterfinal contest. Rex Kulman’s loss at No. 1 singles put the match in jeopardy, and despite a strong singles effort from Evaan Mohan, who defeated Christopher Manton 6-4, 7-6(5), Australia’s Novak Palombo and Sebastian Lavorato clinched the doubles tiebreaker with a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over Mohan and Max Smith.
The U.S. girls will now face second-seeded Japan in the semifinals after Japan overcame third-seeded Ukraine with a 2-1 decision, including a decisive doubles win. The other girls semifinal will see unseeded Czechia, who beat unseeded Sweden 2-0, take on seventh-seeded Italy, which defeated unseeded Slovakia 3-0. Meanwhile, the U.S. boys will battle Slovakia for fifth place, with Brazil and Bulgaria contesting the remaining semifinal after each claimed a 2-0 victory over Colombia and Great Britain, respectively.
Fans can follow the action closely via live scoring and find complete results online, with replays and match highlights available on the World Tennis junior video page. The semifinal matchups are set for Friday in Prostejov.