2018 BELGOSSTRAKH European Under 21 Championships
In dramatic closure of the 2018 BELGOSSTRAKH European Under 21 Championships Tomas POLANSKY of Czech Republic justified his status and overcame Cristian PLETEA of Romania (11:6 5:11 12:10 11:5 5:11 7:11 12:10) to clinch the title in the final of the Men’s Singles Event.
In thrilling seven games duel POLANSKY had a better start but after 3:1 PLETEA recovered to level the match. In addition he was the one who controlled the match in most of the seventh game.
“Before the match I was not sure whether I could succeed in the finals with my arm injured. I played smoothly at the beginning but PLETEA surprised me and got some aces from up his sleeve so I had to change my tactics I switched to forehand at 3:1. To be honest I don’t have a slightest idea of how I managed to prevail in the seventh game. I kept up with my play and hoped for the best. My arm didn’t bother me in quarterfinals and semifinals and now it reminded me that I had to be careful. Of course it would also be fantastic if I won Doubles too but I was focused on Singles from the very beginning ” explained POLANSKY.
In the semis Tomas POLANSKY overcame Rares SIPOS of Romania (11:6 11:4 12:10 1:11 11:6)
Last time I played against SIPOS I was nearly defeated. I won by narrowest of margin 15:13 in the last game. He has neat backhands so I had to keep an eye on every single detail of how he performed his shots. I found the way to answer his style and proved to be stronger ” said POLANSKY.
Cristian PLETEA of Romania was stretched to full distance against last year’s bronze medalists Darko JORGIC of Slovenia but prevailed (11:9 7:11 12:10 5:11 5:11 11:7 11:9)
“I have seen how JORGIC played in different matches. He defeated many skilled adversaries in Bundesliga and he was merciless with his rivals here. Me and my coach developed tactics that seemed legit but the game wasn’t always going as planned. In the middle of the last set I felt something like a strong block all over my body I guess it’s due to immense psychological pressure of the importance of this match. I was afraid to lose ” explained PLETEA.
