Germany’s ASC Grünwettersbach became the first club to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Europe Cup Men, following a commanding performance in both legs of their quarterfinal clash against SKST Havířov.
After a 3-0 victory at home, the German side repeated the scoreline today in Czechia, once again prevailing in straight matches.
“We’re really happy to reach the semi-finals,” said Leo DE NODREST.” We won 3-0 in both matches, but they were all tough. We’re glad we could be the better team when it mattered most.
We played the same opponents in both legs, so it was a bit easier to prepare, using what we learned from the first match. Still, the team had to fight hard — most of the games were won after very close fight.”
What makes their achievement even more impressive is the path they had to take — starting from the very first qualifying stage. In November, ASC Grünwettersbach defeated Namiznoteniški klub SAVINJA (Slovenia), ALZIRA TENNIS TAULA (Spain), and SK Vydrany (Slovakia).
One month later, in Stage 2, they overcame STK Starr (Croatia) and ENOLI BORGES VALL (Spain), with their only defeat coming at the hands of KTS Gliwice (Poland).
In the knockout stage (Stage 3), Grünwettersbach eliminated Austria’s SPG Felbermayr Wels in both legs before repeating that success against SKST Havířov in the quarterfinals.
SKST Havirov – ASC Grünwettersbach 0-3
- Adam STALZER – Leo DE NODREST 0-3 (11-13, 6-11, 10-12)
- Jan VALENTA – Ricardo WALTHER 8-11, 10-12, 9-11)
- Michal BLINKA – Guilherme TEODORO 1-3 (11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 8-11)
Opening leg
ASC Grünwettersbach vs SKST Havířov 3:0
- Leo DE NODREST def. Adam STALZER 3:1 (11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6)
- Guilherme TEODORO def. Michal BLINKA 3:1 (4-11, 11-3, 11-5, 13-11)
- Ricardo WALTHER def. Jan VALENTA 3:0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-3)
Photos by: Jaroslav ODSTRCILIK
