Trailing 6-2, 5-4, overnight, the girls’ under-16 duo of Cody Wong and Jenny Wong managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by winning the deciding doubles, 2-6, 7-6(5), [10-5], against No. 8 seed Korea to book the EFG Hong Kong Junior Fed Cup team a spot in this year’s World Finals in Budapest.
The team competing at the Asia/Oceania Qualifying in Kuching comprised Cody Wong, Jenny Wong, Sheena Masuda Karrasch, and Leo Liu (Captain).
The girls will face fifteen of the world’s best teams representing Africa, North/Central America, South America, and Europe at the Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Budapest, Hungary from September 25-30.
The teams in the Finals are drawn into four round-robin groups before the top teams in each group progress to the semifinals where a knock-out competition decides the champion.
Hong Kong number one, Cody Wong, currently ranked at a career-high No. 71 in the world, who went undefeated in singles against India, New Zealand, Australia, and Korea said, “I am overjoyed that we can reach the Finals in my last year with the Junior Fed Cup team.”
“I am carrying a shoulder injury, so every match has been extremely difficult for me this week. The pressure was beginning to weigh heavily on us when we trailed during the early stretches of the deciding doubles. We just had to fight through it the best we could. Hopefully, we can perform at a high level come September,” she added.
“I am so thrilled that both the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup teams made it to the Finals. We had to dig deep to overcome the Koreans and the conditions were tough over here. Hopefully, we can continue to give a good account of ourselves in the upcoming Finals too,” said Jenny, who together with Cody formed the backbone of the under-14 squad that secured Hong Kong’s first-ever qualification to the World Junior Tennis Finals in 2016.
“We played really well even though we were down. After that rain delay, we came back and won. It was really amazing. We’re all excited to try and get a good result in Europe,” said Sheena.
Captain Liu remarked, “There was very good camaraderie within the team, and the girls showed great courage in the face of adversity to prevail. It is a testament to their fine character and hard work. We will face a huge challenge against the best of the best in the Finals, but we shall fight for every point and do us proud.”
With Cody sitting out the ensuing semifinal, Hong Kong lost 2-0 to 5th-seeded Indonesia. The team then wrapped up this week’s Asia/Oceania Qualifying with a 2-1 victory against No. 4 seed Japan to finish in 3rd place. Jenny Wong beat world No. 51 Himari Sato 6-4, 6-2, before siding with Cody Wong to win the doubles, 6-3, 6-3.
Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Japan qualified for World Finals.
Previously, only three teams from Hong Kong have qualified for the Junior Fed Cup Finals:
1985: Paulette Moreno, Lisa Kwok, and Christine Kwok
2005: Zhang Ling, Venise Chan, and Tsang Pui Yee
2006: Jessica Yang, Geraldine Leong, and Jennifer Sher
The 1985 side placed 6th overall that year during the Finals ahead of a ninth-placed West German team that featured the great Steffi Graf in its lineup.
About the Junior Fed Cup
The International Team Competition for players aged 16 & Under was launched by the ITF in 1985 as the “World Youth Cup” with NEC as the title sponsor between 1988 and 2001.
In 2002 the ITF re-branded the boys competition as part of a new partnership with BNP Paribas to “Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas”. The girls’ competition was also changed to “Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas” in 2005.
From the competition’s inaugural year in 1985 when 44 nations took part in regional qualifying with the top 16 boys’ and 16 girls’ teams moving through to the Finals in Kobe, Japan, the competition has gone from strength to strength. The number of participants has grown to around 100 nations each year.
Results
Junior Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Qualifying
Kuching, Malaysia
April 16-21, 2018
Group B
(2)Hong Kong defeated India 3-0
R1 Jenny Wong (HKG) d. Bhakti Parwani (IND) 6-0 6-1
R2 Cody Wong (HKG) d. Tanisha Kashyap (IND) 6-2 6-2
R3 Jenny Wong/Sheena Masuda Karrasch (HKG) d. Tanisha Kashyap/Prerna Vichare (IND) 6-1 6-3
New Zealand defeated (2)Hong Kong 2-1
R1 Vivian Yang (NZL) d. Jenny Wong (HKG) 6-7(3) 6-4 6-1
R2 Cody Wong (HKG) d. Jade Otway (NZL) 6-4 6-1
R3 Ema Miyaura/Jade Otway (NZL) d. Cody Wong/Jenny Wong (HKG) 4-6 1-2 Retired
(6)Australia defeated (2)Hong Kong 2-1
R1 Annerly Poulos (AUS) d. Jenny Wong (HKG) 6-0 6-4
R2 Cody Wong (HKG) d. Olivia Gadecki (AUS) 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3
R3 Annerly Poulos/Olivia Gadecki (AUS) d. Cody Wong/Jenny Wong (HKG) 5-7 7-5 [10-7]
Quarterfinal
(2)Hong Kong defeated (8)Korea 2-1
R1 Back Dayeon (KOR) d. Jenny Wong (HKG) 6-2 6-1
R2 Cody Wong (HKG) d. Ku Yeonwoo (KOR) 6-4 6-4
R3 Cody Wong/Jenny Wong (HKG) d. Ku Yeonwoo/Jeong BoYoung (KOR) 2-6 7-6(5) [10-5]
Semifinal
(5)Indonesia defeated (2)Hong Kong 2-0
R1 Janice Tjen (INA) d. Sheena Masuda Karrasch (HKG) 6-4 6-3
R2 Priska Nugroho (INA) d. Jenny Wong (HKG) 6-3 6-3
R3 DNP
3rd-4th Place Playoff
(2)Hong Kong defeated (4)Japan 2-1
R1 Kirara Morioka (JPN) d. Sheena Masuda Karrasch (HKG) 6-1 7-5
R2 Jenny Wong (HKG) d. Himari Sato (JPN) 6-4 6-2
R3 Cody Wong/Jenny Wong (HKG) d. Himari Sato/Kirara Morioka (JPN) 6-3 6-3
Final Positions (Bracket denotes seeding):
- Australia(6)
- Indonesia(5)
- Hong Kong(2)
- Japan(4)
- Thailand(3)
- China(1)
- Chinese Taipei(7)
- Korea(8)
- Uzbekistan
- Sri Lanka
- India
- Malaysia
- Kazakhstan
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- Mongolia