ITF

and last year's beaten finalists France. Ultimately, however, their staying power dissipated and Damm fell short of emulating his father – and namesake – who was a member of the Czechoslovakia side that clinched Junior Davis Cup silverware in 1988. While Mochizuki was Japan's star, USA's lucky Fed Cup charm was Connie Ma, who won all nine of the matches she played across singles and doubles, while Robin Montgomery also returned a perfect record from her seven. Katrina Scott, who is a year younger than her teammates, was also an influential figure, although it was Ma and Montgomery who joined forces in the doubles to pave the way for American glory by brushing past Czech duo Linda Noskova and Barbora Palicova 6-2 7-5. Having taken until 2008 to claim their maiden Junior Fed Cup title, USA have now won six in 12 years and have reached the final in each of the last six editions of the tournament. Ma was a member of the winning USA team in Budapest 12 months earlier, lining up alongside Cori Gauff, and being on court at the moment of victory provided another special moment for the Californian. "It is amazing to win two years in a row," said Ma, whose team topped Group D after breezing past Brazil, Korea, Rep., and Thailand before dousing the threat of Italy and Germany in the quarter and semi-finals respectively. "I was telling Robin during the doubles that the atmosphere was insane. Being in Orlando and winning there was fantastic. "I barely have any words to describe how I felt. The support which we had for each other in the team was incredible and the memories of the week will stay with all of us for the rest of our lives." As ever, the results formed only part of the Finals. Players were escorted to Drive Shack, an interactive golf driving range, and the restaurants at Disney Springs, while some inspiring stories emerged. One of the 32 teams on show in Orlando were Syria, who were represented by Taym Alazmeh, Pierre Djaroueh and Mohamed Yaman Naghnagh as they contested the finals of an ITF Junior team competition for the first time. Members of the team spoke eloquently about growing up in war-torn Syria and how bullets were found on the courts they once trained on, while there were other times military rockets would be seen overhead as they played. While silverware eluded them, perhaps Team Syria know the true meaning of thriving under pressure. Junior Davis Cup Top Four 1. Japan 2. USA 3. Serbia 4. France Junior Fed Cup Top Four 1. USA 2. Czech Republic 3. Russia 4. Germany ITFWorld // AUTUMN 2019 2 7 Martin Damm was unable to emulate his father, who won the Junior Davis Cup in 1988 Czech Republic's Barbora Palicova tried but failed to stem the USA tide in the doubles It was all smiles for Japan's boys following their victory over USA

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