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[Milica Nikolic]

The qualification stage of the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup got underway today at the Omnisports venue in Montreux.

On Thursday, eight players in both the Men’s and Women’s events are competing for the final two places in the Round of 16. The qualification is played over two rounds, with the winners of the second round securing their spots in the main draw.

All matches of the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup will be available live worldwide on ETTU.tv and YouTube ETTU official, except in the following countries and territories, where specific broadcast agreements apply and access is restricted (geo-blocked). In these regions, fans should follow the tournament exclusively on the official local broadcasters listed here.

In the opening round, top seed Anna HURSEY of Wales recorded a swift straight-games victory over Georgina POTA of Hungary 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 .

Annett KAUFMANN came under early pressure in her match against Lea RAKOVAC of Croatia. After narrowly losing the opening game, the German player quickly imposed her dominance and took control of the contest.

Opening round

Georgina POTA of Hungary – Anna HURSEY of Wales 0-3 (6-11, 4-11, 8-11)

Annett KAUFMANN of Germany – Lea RAKOVAC of Croatia 3-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6)

Daniel HABESOHN of Austria – Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia

Andrej GACINA of Croatia – Iulian CHIRITA of Romania

Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania – Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia

Rachel MORET of Switzerland – Charlotte LUTZ of France

Joao GERALDO of Portugal – Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden

Alvaro ROBLES of Spain – Pedro OSIRO of Switzerland

The post Qualification stage opens at CCB Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux first appeared on European table tennis union.

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[Milica Nikolic]

The list of players for the Round of 16 of the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup was completed after the opening day matches at the Omnisports venue in Montreux.

Eight players in each category battled for the two remaining places that secured qualification among the top 16. In the women’s event, the successful qualifiers were Annett KAUFMANN of Germany and Charlotte LUTZ of France. In the men’s competition, Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia and Alvaro ROBLES of Spain claimed the available spots.

Anna HURSEY of Wales put Annett KAUFMANN under heavy pressure in the deciding match today. HURSEY dominated the opening game and disrupted KAUFMANN’s rhythm, but on her debut the German player kept her composure and secured her first qualification for the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup main draw.

KAUFMANN approached the round of 16 calmly after reaching her interim goal:

“For me, everything from now on is a bonus. RAKOVAC and HURSEY were strong adversaries today; those were not easy matches. That’s why I’m especially pleased that, in my Europe Top 16 debut, I managed to reach the main draw with a good performance. Let’s see how the draw turns out tomorrow. I just hope I won’t have to play against one of my four national team teammates.”

Tomislav PUCAR advanced to the main draw after overcoming Daniel HABESOHN of Austria and Iulian CHIRITA of Romania. After a very tight opening game against CHIRITA, the Croatian found his breakthrough.

“The first game was probably the most important part of the match. The opening exchanges are always difficult, but I managed to take control early. When it reached 9–9, it felt like a crucial moment, and winning that first game gave me a mental advantage. The second game was also very close, but I stayed focused and managed to close it out. After going 2–0 up, it became harder for CHIRITA to come back. I had a strong start and finished the match well. It has been another long day here,” said PUCAR.

Speaking about his duel with HABESOHN, PUCAR added:

“The first match was excellent. I lost to HABESOHN here last year, so it’s never easy to play against him. If you give him a little time, he knows how to use it and win points, so it was important to be precise and aggressive, which I managed to do today. I closed the opening two games before he managed to swing the momentum back his way. That’s table tennis — at the end of a game it often comes down to courage and a bit of luck. I handled the closing moments well. In the third game I didn’t have a big lead, he caught up with me, but I managed to turn it around. It was 9–7, and thankfully I was able to close it.”

Playing in her CCB Europe Top 16 Cup debut, Charlotte LUTZ of France defeated Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia and Rachel MORET of Switzerland to secure her place among the top 16 players.

“I was a little stressed this morning because it was my first match at the Top 16 and I really wanted to qualify for the main draw. Despite the nerves, I managed to play very well. Even though I lost the first game, I gained confidence as the match went on and came back to win 3–1. I’m very happy with how I performed and I hope tomorrow will be even better and that I can go further in the competition,” said LUTZ.

Reflecting on her match against LUPULESKU, which also went to four games, LUTZ added:

“I had some problems at the beginning of the match and struggled with my receive. I tried to adjust immediately in the second game to regain control, and it worked well. I also focused on putting more balls on the table because my opponent plays very early, which sometimes causes me difficulties. I changed my approach and it proved effective.”

Alvaro ROBLES defeated João GERALDO of Portugal and Pedro OSIRO of Switzerland to book his place among the top 16 players at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup.

“This morning’s match was very difficult. First of all, it’s never easy to come through qualification and reach the top 16. I had a tough match against Pedro OSIRO, it was 1–1 and very close. He was playing really well and very relaxed, but I stayed focused on turning the match in my favor. After that victory my main priority was to recover and refocus for the next match two hours later,” said ROBLES.

He added:

“I didn’t have the best feeling after the first match and needed to reset my game. I went for a walk and cleared my mind, enjoying the beautiful surroundings, and that helped me prepare again. I’m very satisfied with the result because João is a great player and I lost to him not long ago. That makes this win even more important for me, and I’m pleased to have progressed.”

Qualification round

• Annett KAUFMANN of Germany – Anna HURSEY of Wales 3-1 (7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8)
• Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia – Iulian CHIRITA of Romania 3-0 (10-12, 11-8, 11-3)
• Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia – Charlotte LUTZ of France 1-3 (11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 6-11)
• Joao GERALDO of Portugal – Alvaro ROBLES of Spain 0-3 (7-11, 3-11, 5-11)

Opening round

• Georgina POTA of Hungary – Anna HURSEY of Wales 0-3 (6-11, 4-11, 8-11)
• Annett KAUFMANN of Germany – Lea RAKOVAC of Croatia 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6)
• Daniel HABESOHN of Austria – Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia 0-3 (8-11, 11-13, 9-11)
• Andrej GACINA of Croatia – Iulian CHIRITA of Romania 1-3 (8-11, 7-11, 11-5, 9-11)
• Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania – Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia (9-11, 11-6, 5-11, 8-11)
• Rachel MORET of Switzerland – Charlotte LUTZ of France (5-11, 4-11, 5-11)
• Joao GERALDO of Portugal – Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden 3-2 (11-5, 13-11, 5-11, 5-11, 11-8)
• Alvaro ROBLES of Spain – Pedro OSIRO of Switzerland 3-1 (9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8)

All matches of the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup will be available live worldwide on ETTU.tv and YouTube ETTU official, except in the following countries and territories, where specific broadcast agreements apply and access is restricted (geo-blocked). In these regions, fans should follow the tournament exclusively on the official local broadcasters listed here.

See the pictures by Remi GROS here.

The post Qualifiers confirmed in Montreux as KAUFMANN, LUTZ, PUCAR and ROBLES reach the Round of 16 first appeared on European table tennis union.

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