Bellis, Mmoh to lead U.S. teams at Junior Fed Cup, Junior Davis Cup finals

September 17, 2014 01:51 PM

By Sally Milano, USTA.com

The world's No. 1-ranked junior girl CiCi Bellis and No. 14-ranked junior boy Michael Mmoh will take center stage next week, when the Junior Fed Cup and Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals take place, Sept. 23-28 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The competition is the premier world team competition for players aged 16 and under.

Bellis recently made international headlines when she upset Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the 2014 US Open. The 15-year-old from Atherton, Calif., earned a wild card to compete in the women’s main draw by winning the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships, where she was the youngest winner of the tournament since Lindsay Davenport in 1991. With her victory over Cibulkova, she also became the youngest player to win a US Open main-draw match since Anna Kournikova in 1996.

Joining Bellis on the Junior Fed Cup team are 16-year-old Tornado Alicia Black of Boca Raton, Fla., the 2013 US Open girls’ finalist and 2014 USTA Girls’ 18s runner-up, and 15-year-old Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines, Fla., who represented the U.S. at the Youth Olympic Games last month in Nanjing, China.

Mmoh, who advanced to the round of 16 in the boys’ singles at both Wimbledon and the French Open this year, will team up with William Blumberg, 16, from Greenwich, Conn., who was a USTA Boys’ 16s national doubles champion this year, and Gianni Ross, 15, from Burr Ridge, Ill., who was a singles semifinalist at the 2014 USTA Boys’ 16s National Championships.

USTA National Coaches Kathy Rinaldi and Eric Nunez will travel to coach the girls’ and boys’ teams.

The U.S. has won two Junior Fed Cup titles in the last six years. Taylor Townsend, Louisa Chirico and Gabby Andrews won the championship in 2012, while Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale and Kristie Ahn claimed the title in 2008. The U.S. has also won two Junior Davis Cup titles, in 1999 and 2008.

Other former U.S. junior international team members include Jim Courier, Andy Roddick, James Blake and Davenport. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have also represented their countries in junior international team competition.

 

Back

 
 

 
 
Close