(By Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
The European Games are underway in Krakow, Poland. The Finals will be awarded in doubles on Monday and in singles on Tuesday. Team events begin on Wednesday.
Sunday was an eventful day in Krakow at the 3rd European Games as two of the top Men’s seeds, Moregardh and Ovtcharov, fell in upsets in the Round of 16. Only two of the four Quarterfinal matches have been played, and both were upsets as the two most recognizable remaining names are both gone. In the early matches, Marcos Freitas of Portugal downed Darko Jorgic of Slovenia. Jorgic, who has won tour events and the Euro Cup 16, dropped the first three games before mounting his comeback – but it was Freitas winning 4-2.
France has two rising stars in the Lebrun brothers, and if you have not yet taken note of 19 year old Alexis Lebrun and 16 year old Felix Lebrun, its time to start watching. Both have taken out Top 10 players in the last year, and both are still improving. This morning, it was Alexis losing the first game to Dang Qiu before running off four wins in a row. Four of the five games between the two were decided by the minimum 2 points.
The two remaining Men’s Quarterfinal matches this afternoon are Felix Lebrun against Andrei Ionescu and Andrej Gacina versus Daniel Habesohn. And late in the day, Dang Qiu will play in the Mixed Doubles Final with his partner Nina Mittelham as they face Hungary’s Ecseki and Madarasz on Monday.
Check in at ButterflyOnline.com for table tennis news and results.
