29 April 2013 | Tennis Queensland

Australia’s Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup teams have both come through their Asia/Oceania zonal competitions to qualify for September’s final in Mexico.

Playing in the Final Qualifying event in Gimcheon, South Korea, the Junior Fed Cup team of Olivia Tjandramulia, Naiktha Bains and Kimberly Birrell (all Queensland players) swept aside the competition to finish in first place, snaring one of the three finals places designated for Asia/Oceania nations.

It was rewarding to see the girls enjoying themselves despite a long and stressful week of competition,” captain Louise Pleming commented.

“Each of the team members brought their own strengths and each player made a difference in every match. The way that the girls backed each other up and maintained a great attitude, I believe was instrumental in winning the title.

“I was extremely proud of the girls and the way they handled themselves at all times.”

Australia had secured its finals’ berth thanks to its 2-0 defeat of New Zealand in the semifinals, with Tjandramulia and Bains each cruising to victory in straight sets in the singles rubbers.

And they iced their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Korea in the play-off for first place – Tjandramulia again came through in the singles, and after a disappointing loss in a third-set tiebreak in her singles match, Bains rebounded to partner Tjandramulia in the decisive doubles rubber and capture the tie.

“It was great to play the top girls from Asia/Oceania region. It was very fun to have Louise captain our team. She contributed to making it a worthwhile experience, I loved everyday playing,” Bains reflected.

“I gained a lot of experience and confidence throughout the week. I look forward to the opportunity to play in Mexico,” Tjandramulia added.

Meanwhile, the Aussie Junior Davis Cup team of Oliver Anderson, Marc Polmans and Akira Santillan will also travel to San Luis Potosi in Mexico for September’s final after finishing third in the Final Qualifying competition.

Having beaten New Zealand 2-0 in the quarterfinals, Australia then fell to Japan in the semifinals after Anderson and Polmans both lost tight battles with their Japanese opponents.

But they made amends in the play-off for third place, beating India 2-0 when Anderson dominated Vishu Prasad in his singles match and then Santillan came through a tough singles match against Garvit Batra to cement victory for the green-and-gold.

The finals in Mexico will be staged on 24-29 September.