29 September 2015 | Tennis Australia

Just 10 days after Australia’s Davis Cup semifinal showdown in Glasgow, the nation’s top 16-and-under juniors will take up the mantle on the world stage at the Junior Davis and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Madrid, Spain today (29 September – 4 October). Australia will be represented at the claycourt event by 2015 US Open Juniors semifinalist Alex De Minaur (Lidcombe, NSW), Alexei Popyrin (Pymble, NSW), Blake Ellis (Bellbowrie, Qld) and captain Ben Pyne, National Academy Head Coach NSW.
The Junior Fed Cup team features Destanee Aiava (Narre Warren, Vic), Jaimee Fourlis (Preston, Vic) and Seone Mendez (Homebush Bay, NSW), and will be led by Rohan Fisher, National Academy Manager SA. The Junior Davis Cup team joined the senior squad in Glasgow earlier this month in preparation for the world finals, and enter the six-day event in strong form.

“Preparation for the finals has been great, the week in Glasgow with the senior team was an amazing experience,” Pyne said. “The boys feel they are prepared and are itching to compete. They know the coming week is going to be a real test of their qualities but are really looking forward to playing the top juniors in the world. “The USA, Canada and Germany in the boys’ competition are definitely teams to watch.”

The Junior Davis and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals draw was held overnight. Australia’s Junior Davis Cup team is seeded second and will face Germany, Colombia and South Africa in Group D.
The Junior Fed Cup team are in Group A and will play No.1 seeds Czech Republic, Argentina and the Netherlands in the round robin stage.

The order of play and daily results are available online via the ITF Juniors website.
Sixteen boys’ teams and 16 girls’ teams from a total of 21 countries have fought their way through regional qualifying events for the chance to compete at Caja Magica in Madrid.

Australia’s Junior Davis and Fed Cup teams secured their place by winning the Asia / Oceania qualifying event held in Shepparton, Victoria in April.

In total 168 teams from 94 countries battled it out around the world to reach the finals.
Since 1985 Australia has won the Junior Davis Cup six times, most recently in 2009, and has won the Junior Fed Cup five times, most recently in 2011.