|
| |
 |
Pools Day Two ...
Another hectic day in Riccione, as the teams jockey for those
all-important finishing positions, ready for the even more important
playoffs ...
Women's semis shaping up
Back-to-back wins for England and the Netherlands in the
morning's first matches put them into the semi-finals, with the other
places still up for grabs. Germany are through after beating
Switzerland this morning, while Denmark completed the win they
needed against Spain to also make the semi-finals.
Top four men going strong
England, France, Wales and the Netherlands
all went on court at 15.00, and all came through with their second wins
to keep them on course for the semi-finals. England were first through
with a 4-0 scoreline against Ireland, followed by Wales who beat Spain
3-1.
Second seeds France established a 3-0 lead against Germany before Julien
Balbo saved himself for the late-night meeting with Wales - in much the
same way Alex Gough had done for Wales, both losing the first then not
scoring another point.
The Netherlands were pushed the hardest as Scotland's Alan Clyne scored
an upset 3/0 win over veteran Lucas Buit and rookie Sebastiiaan Weenink
held off a recovery from Chris Small to give the Dutch a win that puts
them into the semis with England.
The final two matches - at 21.00 - were
somewhat strange.
Netherlands decided to save themselves for tomorrow, resting their top
pair as England cruised to victory.
France got through when, firstly David Evans retired injured after the
first game against Jean-Michel Arcucci. Meanwhile Alex Gough was
battling with Renan Lavigne. Renan won that 9/7, but on hearing the news
about Evans, Alex decided the game was up and coasted through the next
two games.
This left France in top spot courtesy of the game Wales dropped earlier
against Spain, so the players went through the motions in the remaining
two rubbers as the pool stages fizzled out. For the record France won
the 2-2 draw 68-65 on points countback, and the stage was set for the
semi-finals.
Complete Results Listing
the new six-referee system in action ... |
THE PLAYOFFS
who plays who ...
complete results list
Results Day Two
The final men's matches:
Germany v Spain
France 2-2 Wales
Ireland 4-0 Scotland
England 2-0 Netherlands
Men's Batch Three:
Sweden 4-0 Czech Rep
Denmark 3-1 Austria
Switzerland 3-1 Hungary
Israel 4-0 Croatia
Slovakia 2-2 Greece
Italy 4-0 Latvia
Women's Batch Three:
England 3-0 France
N'lands 3-0 Germany
Denmark 3-0 Spain
Czech Rep 1-2 Sw'land
Wales 2-1 Scotland
Ireland 3-0 Italy
Men's Batch Two:
Czech Rep. 4-0 Norway
Austria 4-0 Isle of Man
Hungary 4-0 Russia
Denmark 3-1 Italy
Finland 4-0 Belgium
Netherlands 3-1 Scotland
England 4-0 Ireland
Wales 3-1 Spain
France 3-1 Germany
Women's Batch Two:
Scotland 2-1 Norway
Italy 3-0 Finland
Belgium 2-1 Slovakia
Austria 3-0 Russia
Men's Batch One:
Norway 4-0 Croatia
Latvia 4-0 Isle of Man
Greece 4-0 Russia
Ukraine 3-1 Gibraltar
Sweden 4-0 Israel
Switzerland 4-0 Slovakia
Women's Batch One:
Netherlands 3-0 Czech Rep.
England 3-0 Denmark
Norway 1-2 Slovakia
Finland 3-0 Russia
Germany 2-1 Switzerland
France 3-0 Spain
Wales 1-2 Belgium
Ireland 3-0 Austria
THE PLAYOFFS
who plays who ...
complete results list |
 |
 |
|
Men's A:
Netherlands 3-1 Scotland
Dutch delight against the Scots
With both teams looking to grab a semi-final place - realistically in
second position behind England - this was an important match for both,
with the loser going into the 5-12 playoffs and putting their top eight
place next year in jeopardy.
LJ Anjema got the Dutch off to a flying start, 3/0 over Harry Leitch,
but Scotland fought back bravely with Alan Clyne recording a great
win over veteran Lucas Buit.
Dylan Bennett re-established the Dutch lead, beating Stuart Crawford
3/1, and in the end the Dutch took the win, but and Chris Small so
nearly ruined Sebastiiaan Weenink's Dutch debut, fighting back from 2-0
down - and 7-0 down in the fourth - before losing out in five.
 "I'm
very pleased with that, it was an important one that we had to win. I
started well and came out tough in the third, 8/1 match ball. He got it
back and it became a bit of a dogfight but I managed to grind it out
10/9.
"3/0 is important in this four-man team format where every game counts,
I hope the other boys can do the job."
Alan Clyne
Scotland
 "It
was my first match for the Netherlands so I was keen to win. I made a
good start and was 7/0 up in the fourth when he started to come back. I
didn't know how it had gone on the other court so I knew I had to give
my all in the fifth and push for the win."
Sebastiiaan Weenink
Netherlands |
|
|
Men's D: Italy 1-3
Denmark
Denmark dent home hopes
The first of several 'crunch matches' today, as the hosts aim to top
group D at Denmark's expense.
First blood to Denmark as Rasmus Neilsen beat Andrea Capella 3/0, but
over on the glass court the noise levels were rising as Simome Roca
closed in on victory against Morten Sorensen.
The fanatical support for Simome may have got to Morten as he held on to
a lead in the fourth game, every point won by the Italian greeted by
wild cheering.
The Dane was finding the court a little slippy - the first women's match
this morning was delayed while the court lights took the moisture off
the glass floor - and there were frequent delays for court wiping.
In the end though Simome prevailed, and he was so happy he almost forgot
about the door as he attempted to climb out of court!
It became an uphill task for Italy though when Denmark took a 2-1 lead,
leaving Andrea Torricini needing a 3/0 to take the match into points
countback but it was Michael Frilund who won the match for Denmark with
a 3/1 win.
|
"It was a good win, especially as it's so
important for the teamand my rhythm, but it was so difficult to do that
today, I really had to keep my concentration.
"I like the court, but if felt a bit slow today. I like to change the
pace
"The Italian crowd were fantastic, it helped me a lot."
 |
|
Men's C: Sweden 4-0
Israel
Poor Ilen Oren, the Israeli
number one suffered a second successive 3-2 defeat, this time at the
hands of Sweden's Badr Abdel Aziz, who took the final games 9/1 against
a tiring Ilen.
 "It's
a hard game to play, he just seems to go for everything. It was a bit up
and down, we both had good and bad patches but I'm glad I just won out in
the end.
"We have a crunch match with the Czech Republic later, probably to see
who wins the group."
Sweden |
 |
|
