The United States has been declared champion of the 2023 Junior Billie Jean King’s Cup, held this week in Cordoba. The North American team gave the Czechs no chance in Sunday’s final, with countless singles players including Tyra Grant and Iva Jovic missing. She earned the first point in just one hour of play with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Alina Kovakova. The great assets of Tom Guttridge’s side in both matches were their solidity and aggressiveness from the back of the pitch.
Iva Jovic faced greater opposition against No. 6 in the world youth rankings, Laura Samsonova. The exchange of blows from the baseline was in favor of the American at times, although Jovic did not find comfort when it came to determining the match, the point and the final in favor of the United States.
In the heat of Cordoba, supported by the American crowd, Jovic concentrated on every point after threatening a break point, eventually winning the match 6-1, 7-5. This is the eighth Billie Jean King Junior Cup title for the United States, reaffirming the title won in Turkey in the 2022 edition and becoming the dominant team in the competition, with five titles won in the past six years.
For its part, the Spanish team, which lost in the semi-finals specifically to the United States, was unable to reach the bronze medal after its loss to Great Britain, although it achieved an honorable fourth place that can be classified as a “remarkable rise.”
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