In tomorrow’s semi final of the Mixed Doubles event at the European Championships in Munich Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria will meet Ovidiu IONESCU and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania whilst in other semi final Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan of France will play against Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia In the quarterfinal Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA overcame Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE of France 3:1 to be the first doubles to win the medal in Munich. Sofia POLCANOVA:”We prepared well for this tournament and we practiced a lot. I got some very good advices from ‘Robbie’ and I did mostly everything the way he told me to play. In the end I am happy that I could put very good balls on the table and that I also played my level.” On eliminating defending champions Dang QIU and Nina MITTELHAM as well as last year’s European championship bronze medallists Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE on their way to the semifinals: “With this draw this victory is even sweeter. This draw was not easy. We beat the ex European champions and now these who were bronze medallists last year so we played really good today.” Robert Gardos: “It has been a very long day for an old man. It was even longer than for the young girl. But we are very happy. We knew this day would be very hard and we would have to fight. We have prepared I think we practiced quite good all these months and we are lucky that this day was for us.” On playing with Polcanova: “This is our first big tournament. We have just played two pro tours – these WTT tournaments – so we didn’t know which level we are at. For us it means quite a lot in such a big tournament with such a difficult draw to be in the semifinal. We will se how long we can go but if not we are happy about the bronze.” Ovidiu IONESCU and Bernadette SZOCS prevailed against young pairings from Poland Samuel KULCZYCKI and Katarzyna WEGRZYN 3:1. “Quarterfinals are always tough but we are very happy to reach another medal. The last two editions of the European championships were not as good as we hoped. We wanted very much to be in the semifinals and to fight for the gold medal so we are very happy ” said IONESCU. I both occasions their progress were halted by the German players who later become champions. “I know that we are capable of winning the gold medal and to fight for the podium. It was painful but we learn from these defeats and we are here in the semifinals.” On their preparations for the mixed doubles tournament IONESCU stated: “Mixed doubles is an Olympic event so we take it very seriously. Every time we have training camps we practise a lot together and try to work on our weak points and study a lot with our coaches. We invest a lot of time in mixed doubles. I think it’s one of the ways to get a medal the easiest but there are 16 couples in the Olympics. We have to try because Bernadette Szocs is one of the best in Europe and I am very glad that she’s my mixed partner. The coming gold is an Olympic medal so we will give everything for this.” Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan justified their rankings by beating Nándor ECSEKI Dóra MADARÁSZ of Hungary. “We knew from the beginning that it would be a really tough match against this Hungarian pair because these are two really good doubles players. We played against them one time in Tunisia one year ago and it was also a really close game. We won 3-1 but it was really close and it was about the same match today.We played really good doubles and had several tests today against this pair. They played really good today and we must play our best level to catch this game ” said LEBESSON. Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA prevailed against Álvaro ROBLES and María XIAO of Spain. Title holders in Mixed Doubles Event Dang QIU and Nina MITTELHAM were halted in the Round of 16 after superb performance of Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria. Previously German pairings broke the ice in Munich by beating Truls MOREGARDH and Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden. “The first match at every tournament is very difficult. Especially if you play against Truls MOREGARDH both of them are playing really well very dangerous. We don’t need to say a lot about Truls everyone knows who he is. So it was very tough for us to get a good rhythm in the start so we are very happy that we managed to win ” said QIU. Nina added: “Last time at the 2020 European Championships I think in the second round we were down 0-2 and came back and we won so maybe it is a sign that the first match wasn’t the easiest one and it only can get better.” LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan beat Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS and Elisavet TERPOU of Greece in the Round of 32 before they halted the progress of Daniel HABESOH of Austria and Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania. In the Round of 16 Last year’s runner’s up Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia prevailed against Germany’s Benedikt DUDA and Sabine WINTER. Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE reached the quarterfinal without losing the game. In the opening match of the day they overcame Filip ZELJKO and Matea JEGER of Croatia and in Round of 16 French pairings prevailed against WANG Yang and Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia. “We won three opening game against Slovaks 11:1 so we took the control over the match in very early stage. We kept the pressure on ” said GAUZY.

In tomorrow’s semi final of the Mixed Doubles event at the European Championships in Munich Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria will meet Ovidiu IONESCU and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania whilst in other semi final Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan of France will play against Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia In the quarterfinal Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA overcame Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE of France 3:1 to be the first doubles to win the medal in Munich. Sofia POLCANOVA:”We prepared well for this tournament and we practiced a lot. I got some very good advices from ‘Robbie’ and I did mostly everything the way he told me to play. In the end I am happy that I could put very good balls on the table and that I also played my level.” On eliminating defending champions Dang QIU and Nina MITTELHAM as well as last year’s European championship bronze medallists Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE on their way to the semifinals: “With this draw this victory is even sweeter. This draw was not easy. We beat the ex European champions and now these who were bronze medallists last year so we played really good today.” Robert Gardos: “It has been a very long day for an old man. It was even longer than for the young girl. But we are very happy. We knew this day would be very hard and we would have to fight. We have prepared I think we practiced quite good all these months and we are lucky that this day was for us.” On playing with Polcanova: “This is our first big tournament. We have just played two pro tours – these WTT tournaments – so we didn’t know which level we are at. For us it means quite a lot in such a big tournament with such a difficult draw to be in the semifinal. We will se how long we can go but if not we are happy about the bronze.” Ovidiu IONESCU and Bernadette SZOCS prevailed against young pairings from Poland Samuel KULCZYCKI and Katarzyna WEGRZYN 3:1. “Quarterfinals are always tough but we are very happy to reach another medal. The last two editions of the European championships were not as good as we hoped. We wanted very much to be in the semifinals and to fight for the gold medal so we are very happy ” said IONESCU. I both occasions their progress were halted by the German players who later become champions. “I know that we are capable of winning the gold medal and to fight for the podium. It was painful but we learn from these defeats and we are here in the semifinals.” On their preparations for the mixed doubles tournament IONESCU stated: “Mixed doubles is an Olympic event so we take it very seriously. Every time we have training camps we practise a lot together and try to work on our weak points and study a lot with our coaches. We invest a lot of time in mixed doubles. I think it’s one of the ways to get a medal the easiest but there are 16 couples in the Olympics. We have to try because Bernadette Szocs is one of the best in Europe and I am very glad that she’s my mixed partner. The coming gold is an Olympic medal so we will give everything for this.” Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan justified their rankings by beating Nándor ECSEKI Dóra MADARÁSZ of Hungary. “We knew from the beginning that it would be a really tough match against this Hungarian pair because these are two really good doubles players. We played against them one time in Tunisia one year ago and it was also a really close game. We won 3-1 but it was really close and it was about the same match today.We played really good doubles and had several tests today against this pair. They played really good today and we must play our best level to catch this game ” said LEBESSON. Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA prevailed against Álvaro ROBLES and María XIAO of Spain. Title holders in Mixed Doubles Event Dang QIU and Nina MITTELHAM were halted in the Round of 16 after superb performance of Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria. Previously German pairings broke the ice in Munich by beating Truls MOREGARDH and Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden. “The first match at every tournament is very difficult. Especially if you play against Truls MOREGARDH both of them are playing really well very dangerous. We don’t need to say a lot about Truls everyone knows who he is. So it was very tough for us to get a good rhythm in the start so we are very happy that we managed to win ” said QIU. Nina added: “Last time at the 2020 European Championships I think in the second round we were down 0-2 and came back and we won so maybe it is a sign that the first match wasn’t the easiest one and it only can get better.” LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan beat Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS and Elisavet TERPOU of Greece in the Round of 32 before they halted the progress of Daniel HABESOH of Austria and Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania. In the Round of 16 Last year’s runner’s up Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia prevailed against Germany’s Benedikt DUDA and Sabine WINTER. Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE reached the quarterfinal without losing the game. In the opening match of the day they overcame Filip ZELJKO and Matea JEGER of Croatia and in Round of 16 French pairings prevailed against WANG Yang and Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia. “We won three opening game against Slovaks 11:1 so we took the control over the match in very early stage. We kept the pressure on ” said GAUZY.

In tomorrow’s semi final of the Mixed Doubles event at the European Championships in Munich Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria will meet Ovidiu IONESCU and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania whilst in other semi final Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan of France will play against Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia In the quarterfinal Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA overcame Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE of France 3:1 to be the first doubles to win the medal in Munich. Sofia POLCANOVA:”We prepared well for this tournament and we practiced a lot. I got some very good advices from ‘Robbie’ and I did mostly everything the way he told me to play. In the end I am happy that I could put very good balls on the table and that I also played my level.” On eliminating defending champions Dang QIU and Nina MITTELHAM as well as last year’s European championship bronze medallists Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE on their way to the semifinals: “With this draw this victory is even sweeter. This draw was not easy. We beat the ex European champions and now these who were bronze medallists last year so we played really good today.” Robert Gardos: “It has been a very long day for an old man. It was even longer than for the young girl. But we are very happy. We knew this day would be very hard and we would have to fight. We have prepared I think we practiced quite good all these months and we are lucky that this day was for us.” On playing with Polcanova: “This is our first big tournament. We have just played two pro tours – these WTT tournaments – so we didn’t know which level we are at. For us it means quite a lot in such a big tournament with such a difficult draw to be in the semifinal. We will se how long we can go but if not we are happy about the bronze.” Ovidiu IONESCU and Bernadette SZOCS prevailed against young pairings from Poland Samuel KULCZYCKI and Katarzyna WEGRZYN 3:1. “Quarterfinals are always tough but we are very happy to reach another medal. The last two editions of the European championships were not as good as we hoped. We wanted very much to be in the semifinals and to fight for the gold medal so we are very happy ” said IONESCU. I both occasions their progress were halted by the German players who later become champions. “I know that we are capable of winning the gold medal and to fight for the podium. It was painful but we learn from these defeats and we are here in the semifinals.” On their preparations for the mixed doubles tournament IONESCU stated: “Mixed doubles is an Olympic event so we take it very seriously. Every time we have training camps we practise a lot together and try to work on our weak points and study a lot with our coaches. We invest a lot of time in mixed doubles. I think it’s one of the ways to get a medal the easiest but there are 16 couples in the Olympics. We have to try because Bernadette Szocs is one of the best in Europe and I am very glad that she’s my mixed partner. The coming gold is an Olympic medal so we will give everything for this.” Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan justified their rankings by beating Nándor ECSEKI Dóra MADARÁSZ of Hungary. “We knew from the beginning that it would be a really tough match against this Hungarian pair because these are two really good doubles players. We played against them one time in Tunisia one year ago and it was also a really close game. We won 3-1 but it was really close and it was about the same match today.We played really good doubles and had several tests today against this pair. They played really good today and we must play our best level to catch this game ” said LEBESSON. Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA prevailed against Álvaro ROBLES and María XIAO of Spain. Title holders in Mixed Doubles Event Dang QIU and Nina MITTELHAM were halted in the Round of 16 after superb performance of Robert GARDOS and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria. Previously German pairings broke the ice in Munich by beating Truls MOREGARDH and Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden. “The first match at every tournament is very difficult. Especially if you play against Truls MOREGARDH both of them are playing really well very dangerous. We don’t need to say a lot about Truls everyone knows who he is. So it was very tough for us to get a good rhythm in the start so we are very happy that we managed to win ” said QIU. Nina added: “Last time at the 2020 European Championships I think in the second round we were down 0-2 and came back and we won so maybe it is a sign that the first match wasn’t the easiest one and it only can get better.” LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan beat Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS and Elisavet TERPOU of Greece in the Round of 32 before they halted the progress of Daniel HABESOH of Austria and Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania. In the Round of 16 Last year’s runner’s up Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia prevailed against Germany’s Benedikt DUDA and Sabine WINTER. Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE reached the quarterfinal without losing the game. In the opening match of the day they overcame Filip ZELJKO and Matea JEGER of Croatia and in Round of 16 French pairings prevailed against WANG Yang and Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia. “We won three opening game against Slovaks 11:1 so we took the control over the match in very early stage. We kept the pressure on ” said GAUZY.

The start of the Women’s Singles Event brought few upsets and Marketa SEVCIKOVA of Czech Republic was in charge for the one of them in the early afternoon program in Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle. Marketa beat Serbia’s Sabina SURJAN in four games in the opening round of the Group Stage. “It was very tense duel from the first game because we were testing each other to see who could do what. Although I played with her sometime in the juniors six years ago that doesn’t count at all. I was a little unsure when she leveled at 1:1 but I still stuck to the set tactics. In the first two games I learned what applies to her where I should place the balls and then it was good. I have taken the first step towards wining my group but I have no idea how the Italian plays in defense so nothing is certain yet. I will fight and I believe that I will play the main competition ” said SEVCIKOVA. The big upset was created by Rebekka CARLSEN of Norway. In four games she overcame Ema LOBOSOVA of Slovakia the top seed in Group 15. In top 8 Groups only one two leaders stumbled. Beside SURJAN in Group 6 Nicole ARLIA of Italy suffered by the hands of Charlotte BARDSLEY of England after full distance duel. Amelia SOLJA of Austria Rachel MORET of Switzerland Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania Annett KAUFMANN of Germany Leone HARTBRICH of Hungary and Mateja JEGER of Croatia successfully concluded their opening round encounters. In Men’s Singles all the favorites concluded the opening round with success. In the Group 1 Tomas POLANSKY of Czech Republic beat Barish MOULLET of Switzerland in straight games. Belgium’s Martin ALLEGRO and Cedric NUYTINICK both recorded straight games victories in their respective Groups. Tom JARVIS of England beat Andrei PUTUNTICA of Moldova but he was forced to go full distance. Rares SIPOS of Romania was also under pressure against Greek Georgios STAMATOUROS. Same scenario was seen in the match between Ievgen PRYSCHEPA of Ukraine and Giorgos KONSTANTINOPOULOS where Ievgen was streched to full five games. Eduard IONESCU of Romania three weeks ago won the title at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships in Belgrade. Only 17-years old showed confinence by beating Mattias MONGIUSTI of San Marino in the opening round. “I’m confident but last month it was juniors now they are seniors so it’s a whole new level. It’s a lot harder but I will try to do my best and hopefully get a medal here also.” On the difference playing against senior player: “They are bigger. They have a lot more experience than me. At the key points – 9-9 10-10 – it is harder for me to deal with the situation but I am trying my best. Experienced player are calmer than me. Sometimes I get angry. I try to not let people see this but in my head I am very angry.” On the advantage of coming in as a young talent: “I am not under pressure here I don’t have pressure when I play because they are bigger. I have a lot of more years to play here so they have more pressure than me. I’m just trying to play my best and feel good.” On winning his first match 3-1: “It was kind of hard because it was the first game of the tournament. I have to get used to the hall first. Then hopefully it will get better day by day.”

The start of the Women’s Singles Event brought few upsets and Marketa SEVCIKOVA of Czech Republic was in charge for the one of them in the early afternoon program in Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle. Marketa beat Serbia’s Sabina SURJAN in four games in the opening round of the Group Stage. “It was very tense duel from the first game because we were testing each other to see who could do what. Although I played with her sometime in the juniors six years ago that doesn’t count at all. I was a little unsure when she leveled at 1:1 but I still stuck to the set tactics. In the first two games I learned what applies to her where I should place the balls and then it was good. I have taken the first step towards wining my group but I have no idea how the Italian plays in defense so nothing is certain yet. I will fight and I believe that I will play the main competition ” said SEVCIKOVA. The big upset was created by Rebekka CARLSEN of Norway. In four games she overcame Ema LOBOSOVA of Slovakia the top seed in Group 15. In top 8 Groups only one two leaders stumbled. Beside SURJAN in Group 6 Nicole ARLIA of Italy suffered by the hands of Charlotte BARDSLEY of England after full distance duel. Amelia SOLJA of Austria Rachel MORET of Switzerland Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania Annett KAUFMANN of Germany Leone HARTBRICH of Hungary and Mateja JEGER of Croatia successfully concluded their opening round encounters. In Men’s Singles all the favorites concluded the opening round with success. In the Group 1 Tomas POLANSKY of Czech Republic beat Barish MOULLET of Switzerland in straight games. Belgium’s Martin ALLEGRO and Cedric NUYTINICK both recorded straight games victories in their respective Groups. Tom JARVIS of England beat Andrei PUTUNTICA of Moldova but he was forced to go full distance. Rares SIPOS of Romania was also under pressure against Greek Georgios STAMATOUROS. Same scenario was seen in the match between Ievgen PRYSCHEPA of Ukraine and Giorgos KONSTANTINOPOULOS where Ievgen was streched to full five games. Eduard IONESCU of Romania three weeks ago won the title at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships in Belgrade. Only 17-years old showed confinence by beating Mattias MONGIUSTI of San Marino in the opening round. “I’m confident but last month it was juniors now they are seniors so it’s a whole new level. It’s a lot harder but I will try to do my best and hopefully get a medal here also.” On the difference playing against senior player: “They are bigger. They have a lot more experience than me. At the key points – 9-9 10-10 – it is harder for me to deal with the situation but I am trying my best. Experienced player are calmer than me. Sometimes I get angry. I try to not let people see this but in my head I am very angry.” On the advantage of coming in as a young talent: “I am not under pressure here I don’t have pressure when I play because they are bigger. I have a lot of more years to play here so they have more pressure than me. I’m just trying to play my best and feel good.” On winning his first match 3-1: “It was kind of hard because it was the first game of the tournament. I have to get used to the hall first. Then hopefully it will get better day by day.”

The start of the Women’s Singles Event brought few upsets and Marketa SEVCIKOVA of Czech Republic was in charge for the one of them in the early afternoon program in Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle. Marketa beat Serbia’s Sabina SURJAN in four games in the opening round of the Group Stage. “It was very tense duel from the first game because we were testing each other to see who could do what. Although I played with her sometime in the juniors six years ago that doesn’t count at all. I was a little unsure when she leveled at 1:1 but I still stuck to the set tactics. In the first two games I learned what applies to her where I should place the balls and then it was good. I have taken the first step towards wining my group but I have no idea how the Italian plays in defense so nothing is certain yet. I will fight and I believe that I will play the main competition ” said SEVCIKOVA. The big upset was created by Rebekka CARLSEN of Norway. In four games she overcame Ema LOBOSOVA of Slovakia the top seed in Group 15. In top 8 Groups only one two leaders stumbled. Beside SURJAN in Group 6 Nicole ARLIA of Italy suffered by the hands of Charlotte BARDSLEY of England after full distance duel. Amelia SOLJA of Austria Rachel MORET of Switzerland Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania Annett KAUFMANN of Germany Leone HARTBRICH of Hungary and Mateja JEGER of Croatia successfully concluded their opening round encounters. In Men’s Singles all the favorites concluded the opening round with success. In the Group 1 Tomas POLANSKY of Czech Republic beat Barish MOULLET of Switzerland in straight games. Belgium’s Martin ALLEGRO and Cedric NUYTINICK both recorded straight games victories in their respective Groups. Tom JARVIS of England beat Andrei PUTUNTICA of Moldova but he was forced to go full distance. Rares SIPOS of Romania was also under pressure against Greek Georgios STAMATOUROS. Same scenario was seen in the match between Ievgen PRYSCHEPA of Ukraine and Giorgos KONSTANTINOPOULOS where Ievgen was streched to full five games. Eduard IONESCU of Romania three weeks ago won the title at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships in Belgrade. Only 17-years old showed confinence by beating Mattias MONGIUSTI of San Marino in the opening round. “I’m confident but last month it was juniors now they are seniors so it’s a whole new level. It’s a lot harder but I will try to do my best and hopefully get a medal here also.” On the difference playing against senior player: “They are bigger. They have a lot more experience than me. At the key points – 9-9 10-10 – it is harder for me to deal with the situation but I am trying my best. Experienced player are calmer than me. Sometimes I get angry. I try to not let people see this but in my head I am very angry.” On the advantage of coming in as a young talent: “I am not under pressure here I don’t have pressure when I play because they are bigger. I have a lot of more years to play here so they have more pressure than me. I’m just trying to play my best and feel good.” On winning his first match 3-1: “It was kind of hard because it was the first game of the tournament. I have to get used to the hall first. Then hopefully it will get better day by day.”

Truls MÖREGÅRDH and Linda BERGSTRÖM of Sweden successfully commenced their journey in Munich at the Mixed Doubles Event at the European Championships. In the Preliminary Round of 32 they overcame Toomas LIBENE and Airi AVAMERI of Estonia after full five games. On whether it is helpful to have got a preliminary round match having only played one tournament with Bergstrom before one year ago Truls said: “Of course. It’s tough when you haven’t played that much together so then it’s pretty nice to get to play a preliminary round match. That’s good for us to get to play a little feel the hall and the ball and all of that before playing the seeded pairs tomorrow. That’s always special. If we improve a couple of notches which I’m sure we will then we’ll be dangerous.” On starting his European Championships Munich 2022 in a dramatic fashion winning 3-2: “You get a bit of pulse to it that’s always nice. Estonians put pressure on us throughout the whole game and stuck to their tactics. They did it when it was 9-6 in those sets too and then it’s tough. You need to always play well. As soon as we lower our level a bit they’re going to take that chance which they did.” Asked what it would have been like to lose Truls said: “Then I’ve got no idea of what we would have done in the four coming days. I would’ve had to stroll around and have a look at the Olympic Park or something. It would have been sad. So it is really nice to come away with a win here.” Whilst favorites from Sweden justified their rankings it was bitter story for the player with most of the medals in Mixed Doubles at the europeans in the 21st century – Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC who paired up with Sabina SURJAN this time. They lost to Carlos CABALLERO and Sofia ZHANG after another full distance match. Among the winners are Benedikt DUDA and Sabine WINTER of Germany Austria’s Daniel HABESOHN and Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA as well as Finland’s – Netherland’s combination of Benedek OLÁH and Britt EERLAND. “It’s a really nice feeling to play in front of the home crowd. I think the atmosphere will get even better because so far we’re in the qualification and I think the further the tournament goes more people will come and cheer for Germany and I’m really looking forward to that “said Sabine WINTER.”I’ve been looking forward to this competition a lot. You do not always play in front of a home crowd and you also don’t have a multi-sport event very often. I even come from 30 kilometers from Munich so it is like my home. It is nice for me that I can play such a big tournament in Munich.” On her ambitions at the European Championships Munich 2022: “I saw the medals here are very nice and I want to go home with one of them.” DUDA also underlined how good is to win in front of home crowd: “It is always special to play the European championships. It doesn’t matter where it is. But if you play for Germany in Germany it is very special. The whole arena is for you. They’re cheering for you and pushing you to your limits and I think it is a good advantage for us for the next round.” On losing one game to Italy’s Jordy PICCOLIN and Debora VIVARELLI winning the match 3-1: “In the second (game) we were doing just a few too many serve receive mistakes too easy mistakes on the first two balls. But in the end we were very clear and didn’t make too many mistakes. We also played some good rallies and at the end it (their play) worked.”