A HUGE week for Russia ended with a huge title, clinching the Junior Davis Cup for the third time and overcoming second seeded France in a stellar result for the nation. Despite dropping their first tie of the week, the Russian trio in Yaroslav Demin, Maxim Zhukov and Danil Panarin have been in blistering form, only dropping one match since then – in a tie they had already won – and proving dangerous once more in the final.

Unfortunately for the hard-working French trio in Antoine Ghibaudo, Arthur Gea and Gabriel Debru, the Russians came in with nothing to lose and gained not only the title, but also the confidence to continue this form into the future.

“Junior Davis Cup champion sounds so, so good,” Demin told itftennis.com. “The first day we were so sad because we lost our first tie, and we had a meeting at dinner where our coach told us to fight until the end. From there, we started to play our game and we did fight.

“I think the way I play suits having to fight. Initially today, it was extremely tough but towards the end of the first set, even though I was losing, I fought and that helped me going into the second.

“I started to play my game and suddenly things started to feel really good. Everything felt really good, my drop shot in particular, and I managed to win. Then, my friend [Zhukov] won and now we know what it feels like to be a Junior Davis Cup champion.”

Demin fought from a set down against Debru to clinch a three-set victory, trailing 1-5 in the first set before recovering to win 3-6 6-3 6-1 in an excellent turnaround in form. It was Zhukov who then made the second blow, denying the need for the doubles clash with a phenomenal 6-1 6-3 blitzing of Ghibaudo.

“I am feeling impossible feelings right now, it is crazy,” Zhukov told itftennis.com. “For our country, it is very good. We have only won this tournament once in recent times and even that was five years ago, but for the future we have some very good players, so we will see.”

Captain Ivan Pridankin was proud of the way his team fought, pushing past the doubts and taking down one of the heavy favourites in the process.

“This is a big step for the boys in their careers,” Pridankin said. “This is my third Junior Davis Cup Finals and, in many ways, I cannot believe it has happened. I am really proud of the boys.

“This can be a big step in their careers and I hope they push on from here. For now, this win is for the whole team – personal coaches and doctors – as it has been a big effort from everyone.”

Only Mexico claimed a tie victory over the Russians, with Bulgaria managing to steal a doubles win, before the trio went on to comprehensively defeat Tunisia, Hong Kong, Argentina and Russia.

Final placings:

1. Russia
2. France
3. Mexico
4. Argentina
5. Czech Republic
6. Japan
7. Germany
8. Canada
9. Brazil
10. Bulgaria
11. Turkey
12. Korea, Republic
13. Chile
14. Egypt
15. Hong Kong
16. Tunisia

Picture credit: ITF