Great Britain triumphs in Niederzier – HERZOG culture

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Ahead of the tournament, it was difficult to make a clear prediction about the favourite: as the eight best national teams in Europe for juniors under 14, they all had a real chance of going far at the tennis arena in Rurbenden.

The format of the tournament provided for play on all courts, resulting in a very good competitive atmosphere at the Rurpentan Tennis Arena with four daily matches running simultaneously over the festival weekend.

The Brits, led by reigning European front-runner Mark Seben, showed they are a force to be reckoned with on the opening day of the tournament against France. In the top singles of the meet, the final of the world’s biggest U14 indoor tournament, Tarps, was replayed between Mark Seban and Daniel Jade. In this match as well, Seben went one step further and led his team to a 3-0 win against France. The top-ranked Turks started the tournament very confidently, beating Italy 3-0 to reach a blockbuster semi-final against Great Britain.

The German national team looked very focused and motivated on home soil. From the start of the tournament, Vincent Jacob Reisach, Marco Ontiveros Castro and Eric Dylan Muller had to prove their steel nerves under the guidance of national coach Peter Fankoch. So they narrowly won 2:1 against the nominally strong Slovenians. After a decisive doubles singles, a 1:1 tie had to be decided to win. The first day of the tournament ended with a 2-1 victory for Poland over the Czech Republic and all semi-final matches were set.

It was especially exciting on Friday. All four matches ended 2-1. Germany and Poland had a real battle for the final spot on Center Court. After Germany took a 1:0 lead with a strong comeback win at No. 2 singles, the home team had two chances to win. However, Poland first equalized with a narrow 2-set win in the top singles and reached the final with a decisive 7:5 6:4 victory in the doubles. A bittersweet one for the German national team, however, who put in a strong performance and earned a chance to secure a place on the podium on Saturday.

The second semi-final clash between Great Britain and Turkey saw one of the best singles matches of the tournament between Marc Seban (GBR) and Kan Izic Kosener (DUR), a great battle with Seban winning 7:6 in the third set. After a 1:0 lead by Great Britain’s No. 2 Rhys Lawler, it marked the final for the Brit. France and the Czech Republic also reached the tie for fifth place with 2-1 wins over Italy and Slovenia.

On the same evening, all the teams met their team captains and the organizing committee of the tournament and played bowling together. A fitting change for youngsters after an eventful day on the pitch. It was nice to see the relaxed atmosphere among players from all countries. All the teams left their signatures on bowling pins, which are now a positive reminder of the entire event at the Rurbenton Tennis Arena.

Great Britain were buoyed by their semi-final win the previous day and lost the final against Poland. So they won both singles clearly in two sets, thus winning the first European Championship title in this age group in more than 10 years.

In the bronze medal match, two German singles players, Erik Dylan Müller and Marco Ontiveros Castro, each won the first set, before Samin Filis and Kan Isik Kosener made a strong comeback to take the third place. The Czech Republic beat France 2-1 to finish 5th, while Italy beat Slovenia 2-1 to finish 7th.

The Tennis Europe Junior Under-14 Winter Cup Finals concluded at the Tennis Arena in Rurbenden with the prize-giving ceremony following. The response from participating national teams has been consistently positive. The director of the tournament, TVM Youth Director Kuno Stynberg, was satisfied: “The tournament was a complete success. We were very happy about the positive feedback and many messages of gratitude from the respective team leaders. All the teams felt comfortable and happy to be back. In addition to the strong performances of all the players, We are very grateful for the positive and great atmosphere throughout the tournament. We must emphasize at this point that an event like this would not be possible without the help of the owner of the hall, Markus Schall, the team of assistants, the tournament administration, the referees and the numerous sponsors. A big thank you! We will be very happy to host this tournament again. “