Nine match wins against players from three nations has guaranteed two Derby juniors will represent Great Britain at a tournament in Italy next week.
Jay Clarke and Sam Ferguson were part of the three-strong squad invited to play in the qualifying rounds of the Tennis Europe Under-14 Winter Cup by Head in Ankara, Turkey.
Joining compatriot Marcus Walters, the trio beat opponents from Slovenia, Spain and Turkey to reach the finals of the competition next Friday.
They will fly to Correggio for the three-day tournament, facing teams from Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Russia, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.
Clarke's father, Earol, of Normanton, said his son and Ferguson, both 13, had done incredibly well to progress so easily through the qualifying rounds.
He said: "The boys got through all their matches without too much trouble, which is really promising.
"Even Turkey, who were ranked higher them, was no problem. They managed to out-play them with some good tennis and I think that will be a very good experience for them.
"Jay played the first match each day and did really well, while Sam was then able to follow that result when he played the second match.
"That's important because the second match is where it can be an uphill battle if you've lost the first and teams start to put their heads down because they know what they're up against.
"I'm really pleased for all of them and very proud of Jay."
Eight teams competed in the knockout tournament, with two singles matches and one doubles match determining the winner. Three other qualifying rounds, each featuring eight countries, were also taking places in different locations across Europe.
Great Britain faced unseeded Slovenia in their opening tie at the tournament, at the Ankara Tennis Club, with Clarke winning the first rubber against Sven Lah 6-0, 6-2.
Ferguson, of Spondon, followed this up with a 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-2 victory over Grega Kokalj, which lasted two hours, before Clarke teamed up with Walters for their 6-1, 6-1 win over Lah and Zan Zmavc.
The wins booked Great Britain a place in the semi-finals to face fourth seeds Spain.
Clarke again opened with a win, this time 6-3, 6-3 against Carlos Divar, while Ferguson beat Eduard Guell Bartrina 6-3, 7-6(3).
For the doubles, Ferguson and Walters won 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 against Divar and David Catala Juan – although Great Britain had already confirmed their spot in the finals.
It took Clarke two hours and 42 minutes to beat Alp Sentay, of Turkey, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 on the final day of play and Ferguson secured the victory against the top seeds by beating Ergi Kirkin 6-1, 6-1.
The final dead rubber saw Ferguson and Walters win 6-3, 6-2 against Kirkin and Kaya Gore.
Ferguson and Clarke's success came a week after the pair competed at the Les Petits As – a prestigious Tennis Europe junior event which is considered the non-American equivalent of the famous Orange Bowl junior tournament – in Tarbes, France.
Clarke senior said: "Jay said afterwards that, even though the travelling was a bit of a long, drawn-out experience, he really enjoyed playing at the tournament.
"I think what all three boys will get out of it is the fact that they were competing against the best players from all these other countries and they were able to win all nine matches. To not drop even one is very impressive.
"And Jay has certainly convinced me that he wants to be a tennis player and that he is doing everything he can to achieve that."
Ferguson's father, Graeme, said: "It was very good news that the boys did so well and Great Britain were the only team in all four qualifying groups to not lose a match.
"I really think the experience they had at the tournament in Tarbes gave both of them a lot of confidence for the winter cup and probably for the rest of the year."
Courtesy of the Derby Telegraph