Germany clinched 10th title in Men’s Teams Event at the GAZPROM European Championships in Cluj. In breathtaking final they overcame Russia. Despite losing the final Russia rewrites the history books twice. They played with the youngest ever team in the final of the European Championships – average age of three players is 19 7; by doing so they achieved best result ever for Russia. Until now Russia has been at the medal rostrum only once and then they were third. Denmark and Sweden won bronze. Drama was the main genre on the ultimate day of the fights at the GAZPROM European Team Championships in Cluj. In the final Maksim GREBNEV recovered from the 0:2 in reverse to overcame Benedikt DUDA in the opening match (3:11 4:11 11:7 11:8 12:10). Patrick FRANZISKA needed full five games to overcame Lev KATSMAN (11:7 4:11 13:11 6:11 6:11). Lev had a lead 2:1 but Patrick managed to settle into his rhythm and to won the match. In third match Vladimir SIDORENKO had a good start but failed to produce the win against Dang QIU (11:9 6:11 10:12 8:11). “It was a very big fight not only my match but every match. It was so close. My duel could also went easily to the 5th set but I managed to win it in only four. I’m very happy that we win this somehow that we have such a strong team. FRANZISKA could lose 2 points today against such strong players. I mean they are young they have a great future. I’m just really happy that we won ” said Dang In the match against GREBNEV FRANZISKA played like he is on fire but from 0:3 in the third game magic went to the other side. Grebnev made 7 points in the row in the big style before he pushed the match into the fourth game. In fourth FRANZISKA won only three points and once again decisive game was on the menu. Drama continued in the decisive game which finished by the narrow margin (11:13 5:11 11:9 11:3 15:13). “The Russian team played an amazing tournament. Their players are so young and they have so much potential. We knew that we will have to play at our best today. Congratulations to Russia! Definitely the bright future lays ahead of the . Now we are very happy that we won. We were a little bit of favorites. I thing it was a great final with a better hand for us. Against GREBNEV I was leading 2:0 and 3- 0 in points but I started to played too safe and comfortable. At a certain moment of the game he came out like a tornado. He became extremely aggressive and I was taken by surprise. In the end I think that no-one should lose this match. May be there was a little bit more experience by my side but it could go definitely the other way. He played at his best. Absolutely fantastic player ” said FRANZISKA This was Germany’s 15th final. Only Sweden (19) has more. In addition. This is the first time Germany is in the final without Timo BOLL or Dimitrij OVTCHAROV since 1990. The last time Germany was not in the final was in 2005.

In the battle of the epic proportion Germany clinched the gold medal in the Women’s Team Event at the GAZPROM European Team Championships in Cluj. In the fantastic final they overcame Romania. Portugal and France won bronze medals. It is the sixth title for Germany in Women’s Team Event at the Continental championships (they already won in 2015 2014 2013 1998 and 1996. West-Germany won it twice 1968 and 1962). On the other side Romania was halted on their way to rewrites the history books with the third consecutive gold (previously they won it in 2019 2017 2005 2002 1992.). The winner of the recently held POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup Nina MITTELHAM overcame Bernadette SZOCS in the opening match of the final. World’s no. 31 MITTELHAM was extended the full 5 games distance by World’s no. 24 SZOCS (8:11 11:7 9:11 11:9 10:12) but in nerves wrecking finish Germany secured the lead. In the decisive game Bernadette had advantage 9:5 before Nina recovered to win the match. Nina also beat Elizabeta SAMARA in the fourth match of the encounter (10:12 11:8 9:11 11:9 7:11). “I did not expect I will play against SZOCS at the beginning. She is very dangerous player and I personaly finds difficult to play against her style of play. She won the opening game but I recovered and generally I think that the mental strength was the key to success. I remember being 5:9 down in the decisive game against SZOCS but I can not tell how I managed to win. I just kept on playing point after point ” said NINA. Bernadette SZOCS (1995) and Nina MITTELHAM (1996) had a number of big matches in youth championships in particular in EYC 2013 when Mittelham beat SZOCS in 2 semifinals (singles and doubles) and SZOCS won the doubles. Sabine WINTER overcame Elizabeta SAMARA in straight games (6:11 9:11 10:12). Her match was remarkable. She managed to put almost every ball on the table. “I played against her three months ago at the European Championship in Warsaw in the quarterfinals so I knew what I was going to expect I prepared well and I’m happy that I managed to play very well keep calm and won the match in the end.”
 Did you felt prepared for another game if Nina lost the last one?
 “I was prepared. Somehow yesterday I was really nervous when Nina played the 2nd match. I didn’t want to play again. But today I was pretty relaxed I would have been ready and I was just enjoying to play in front of this crowd even tho they would cheering against us. The atmosphere was good and it was a lot of fun to play this final ”added Sabina. In close five games match Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN created the chance for Romania. She brought back her team in game again with the win over the Under 21 European champion Chantal MANTZ (7:11 11:7 11:8 5:11 7:11) but it did not last for long. “It is so hard to speak now. We have silver in front of home crowd we delivered a good final but it hurt so much that we could not crowned such performance with gold. We wanted to give that joy to our supporters…” said SAMARA. Young team of Germany played first ever Championships in this composition. But despite the fact that Germany’s no. 1 2 and 3 SOLJA HAN and SHAN are not in this team these players also have good records. Nina won the Top 16 last week Sabine has 2 European women’s doubles titles Chantal won the EC U21 in 2017 and Annett won 3 titles in the U15 EYC 2021. “This whole tournament was so challenging because just two days before the start our first player Petrissa SOLJA got sick and we couldn’t count oh her. I was strongly believing in our young player that they are in top shape having a good team spirit being able to beat anyone. To be honest I was not dreaming that we could win the gold. We went step by step; our first goal was to pass the group and then we want a medal against Poland. The final against Romania was the hardest match. The girls played unbelievable good. Sabine in her match against Samara won 3 – 0. It was for the very first time when she won against her. I am so happy that I don’t have words to describe my feelings” said coach Tamara BOROS. Romania played in 12 finals in total they were in 6 of the last 7 they only missed 2014 (Germany played against Austria). SAMARA SZOCS and DODEAN played in all their 6 last finals.  

On the penultimate day of the play at the GAZPROM European Team Championships in BT Arena in Cluj four best teams at the tournament play for their position in the finals. Portugal – Germany 1:3 Germany was the first team to book the place in the final. They avenged their defeat against Portugal in Nantes. Portugal reached the final last time. Despite the shaky start and victiory of YU Fu against Sabine WINTER (11:4 11:7 8:11 11:5) Germany took the control in next three matches. Nina MITTELHAM overcame SHAO Jieni (7:11 9:11 12:10 7:11) whilst Chantal MANTZ proved too strong for Ines MATOS (7:11 5:11 14:16). YU Fu failed to repeat the success in the match against Nina MITTELHAM (11:9 8:11 11:13 6:11). “Last time at the European Championships we lost against Portugal so we expected a very challenging match for us. We came now with a young team and a quite different compared to the previous on without our top star Petrissa SOLJA and HAN Ying. We do not have much experiences playing at this level so we are so happy that we managed to win this match. Sabine played the first duel and she did not play at her best. When I played the second one against SHAO I was under a lot of pressure knowing that I have to win it. I started really good I had two match points in the third game but I lost it. In the fourth game I was down 1:5 but I managed somehow to come back and to win 3:1 giving Chantal MANTZ a good position for the third match. Against Fu YU I knew I could win. Last week I did it already but it is always difficult for me to play against her. Her services are so difficult to receive. Today I managed quite good the receiving ” said Nina MITTELHAM Chantal MANTZ was very happy. Against MATOS she saved two match balls. “I’m feeling amazing I’m also very proud of my team we all played very good we were fighting to win this and it’s also a dream that we are now in the final. Against MATOS I was just playing and fighting and wanting to gave us the lead of this match. I was just playing not thinking that I could lose.”
 Sweden – Russia 0:3 Two opening semi finals showed that youth is taking over the European scene. Young Russia’s stars added another huge milestone in their career. For a first time Russia will have the team in the final of the Men’s Event at the Continental Championships. Last time USSR acheived it it was in 1968. On the way of rewriting history books Russia beat another favorite – Sweden. In the opening dulel Lev KATSMAN entered the satge first and overcame Truls MOREGARD (10:12 11:7 7:11 11:7 7:11). “My heart almost stopped at the end. My mind was blocked I bearly could made a sound when it was all over. It was a very close match. I won the first game then Truls came back… then I won the third game but again he recovered. In the last game I was 7:9 down then it was 9 all he took the lead by 10:9; he was only one point away to win the game ahd the match against me. Emotions were running high. Miraculously I saved this match point and closed the game 13:11. I played my game and stick to my tactics until the end ” said KATSMAN Maksim GREBNEV beat Anton KALLBERG to widen the gap (8:11 9:11 8:11) “I never played against KALLBERG before It was a quite tight match all the games ended so close at 9 and 9 points. I entered into the court with a very strong will to win a point for my team. From the tactical point of vew I felt that my backhand is better than his so I tried to get advantage of this. I did my best to avoid playing too many short balls because Anton is mastering this kind of play. I also did my best to stay as close to the table as possible ” said GREBNEV Vladimir SIDORENKO showed his class against Jon PERSSON (11:9 1:11 10:12 11:6 11:13) “The third match was very important for my team. If I lost it the match could go either way but still I got confidence in GREBNEV. I told to myself to be focused and to play for each point. I won quite a lot of points with my services ” said SIDORENKO. Romania – France 3:0 Romania will fight for its third consecutive crown in front of home crowd tomorrow in Cluj. In the semi final they overcame France in straight matches. “In last 20 years France never beat my team in neither youth nor senior categories but this time was very close. I choose “dangerous” composition. If Bernie has lost we will be in very big trouble ” said coach Viorel FILIMON. Elizabeta SAMARA started the match and she beat Prithika PAVADE (11:9 11:8 4:11 11:7). “I’m glad that I could secured first point for Romania for the team. The match against Prithika PAVADE was really difficult. I knew that before since I’ve played against her at the European Championship this year in Warsaw. The first match against her it’s always a very difficult battle but if you know how to read her and her game it’s possible. Of course she is a revelation she is the new tennis star. She already gives a lot of problems for every player and she beat almost all of them but I’m very happy that I managed to win in the key moments. My experience and mental strength prevailed ” said SAMARA. Bernadette SZOCS faced YUAN Jia Nan and in thrilling five games succeeded (11:6 8:11 5:11 13:11 11:9). “It was a very important point for us. I had to win because if I didn’t manage to achieve this victory I think

At the end of the playing day today at the GAZPROM European Team Championships we will know all medal winners. The quarterfinal matches are on the menu today in BT Arena in Cluj. You can follow the action live on ettu.tv Austria – Russia 2:3 In the fight of epic proportions young Russiasn team reach the medal rostrum after the win over Austria. After 2:0 Austria is seemed to be en route for victory but Lev KATSMAN had different ideas and Vladimir SIDORENKO and Maksim GREBNEV dully agreed. Daniel HABESOHN overcame Vladimir SIDORENKO (11:7 9:11 11:7 11:6) in the opening match and Robert GARDOS also prevailed against Maksim GREBNEV (11:8 11:4 11:9). “In the opening game I had 8:4 and then at 8:6 coach called for time out. I was shocked did not expet this and I lost my focus. I was not prepared for that nor I wanted it. I kept on thinking of that game and lost next two. Even in the match against GARDOS I was still thinking of that match in two opening games. Then I just managed to find my focus and to win against HABESOHN ” said GREBNEV. Maksim overcame GARDOS in five games (11:8 11:9 6:11 7:11 12:14). Lev KATSMAN turn the course of the match. He entered the game at 0:2 and beat Andreas LEVENKO (5:11 8:11 11:9 9:11). ”I had the easiest task regarding the adversary but for me it was difficult since it was my first match at the tournament. I did not play in the Group stage ” said KATSMAN. Robert GARDOS lost to Vladimir SIDORENKO (6:11 11:9 11:8 9:11 5:11) in the decisive match. “I did not want to play. The pressure was enourmous. At 2:2 we are playing for the medal at the senior Championships. I was affraid I asked coach could Kirill play instead of me but coach did not let happen. I played and I felt incredibly I was quiet; I did not celebrate winning points. However I have my teammates shouting and celebrating and giving me support. At 2:1 and 6:6 GARDOS made an easy mistake and then I realise that he is affraid too. It game confidence launched me back in the match. I become totaly focused ” explained SIDORENKO. Germany – Poland 3:0 Renuvejated team Germany concluded their morning duel in three matches. Poland who also play without top names failed to produce the point despite very close encounters. Sabine WINTER opened the duel with the win over Katarzyna WEGRZYN (11:9 7:11 11:7 11:8) Nina MITTELHAM stayed at the same path with the victory over Natalia BAJOR (12:10 8:11 11:8 11:8) and Chantal MANTZ beat Anna WEGRZYN (11:0 11:7 13:11). “It was our aim to win this match and we knew that we could manage it but is always difficult. We stayed mentally strong we won 3-0 and now we just happy we gonna celebrate a few minutes today but we will be prepared and we will keep going tomorrow. We play against Ukraine or Portugal I don’t really know at what time sometime tomorrow I think we don’t really care we can beat them both. We will be motivated and ready for the fight.” said Sabine WINTER. Winner of the POMEGRANATE Top 16 Europe Cup Nina MITTELHAM pointed that the match was much harder than the results predicts. “ It looks quite easy but it was a tough match. In each match we fought really hard. Sabine WINTER won the first in four games and her victory gave me room for the next match. But despite Sabine’s vitory I felt a lot of pressure. I think that I managed quite well the pressure and I am happy that we won and gave Chantal MANTZ a two zero lead. She started also really good and she won her match. We are happy that we could manage to win three zero. We are in the semis now and this is absolutely amazing. Our goal was to reach the quarter finals to qualify for the World Championships next year. And the we said that evrything that will come after it’s a bonus. Now we are in the semis and we hope that we can reach also the finals. We have nothing to lose. We will give our best and hopefully we will win tomorrow” said MITTELHAM. Ukraine – Portugal 1:3 Only Solomiya BRATEYKO managed to score for Ukraine. She beat Rita FINS (5:11 2:11 11:7 6:11). FU Yu showed no mercu. FU beat Ganna GAPONOVA (11:7 11:4 11:5) and Margaryta PESOTSKA (11:7 11:6 11:6). PESOTSKA also lost to SHAO Jieni (11:5 11:6 11:6). Austria – France 0:3 France secured the place at the medal rostrum after the victory over Austria. Prithika PAVADE overcame Sofia POLCANOVA (6:11 11:13 11:8 2:11) to give her team dream start. LIU Jia could not change the course of the match. She lost to YUAN Jia Nan (10:12 14:12 8:11 9:11) whilst CHASSELIN Pauline overcame Karoline MISCHEK (12:14 5:11 6:11). “France team knew from the beginning that this match won’t be easy. POLCANOVA LIU and MISCHEK are very good players. Today we all played well so we managed to win. We are so proud that we won this match. I din’t play before against Jia LIU so I had to concentrate and to stay focused. At the end of the first set LIU was leading 10 – 9 but I managed to save a set point and finally I won the set 14 – 12. We are so happy to play in the semis. I hope that we will play better and better ” said Jia Nan YUAN. Romania – Sweden 1:3 Sweden halted Romania’s progres to the penultimate stage and by doing so inflicted the pain in the harts of the host nation supporters. Ovidiu IONESCU lost to Anton KALLBERG at the begining (11:13 11:9 8:11 11:13) but supported by frantic fans Rares SIPOS beat Mattias FALCK (11:8 6:11 11:6 8:11 11:9) to level the match. Hunor SZOCS

The third day of the play at the GAZPROM European Team Championships brought the decisive Group matches for the place in the quarterfinal. In Men’s quarterfinal will play Germany vs. Czech Republic Denmark vs. England Sweden vs. Romania and Austria vs. Russia. Women’s Team quarterfinal will bring the clashes: Germany vs. Poland Portugal vs. Ukraine Austria vs. France and Luxembourg vs. Romania. Russia – France 3:0 Russia had performed expertly in the last round of the Group stage to dispatch the top seeded team of France in the group F. They clinched the top position after straight matches victory in a contest played at a breathtaking pace. Maksim GREBNEV opened the match with the victory over Alexandre CASSIN (11:9 12:10 11:7). “I played the opening match but I was not under pressure. I had the faith in my team and I knew that we could win this. I was just thinking of my match and just one ball ahead. I am happy I justified the trust coach had in me ” sad GREBNEV who recovered from 6:9 in the opening game. Vladimir SIDORENKO overcame European Champion from 2016 Emmanuel LEBESSON (8:11 11:8 11:5 8:11 11:6). “We used to play in the same club last season so I learned a bit more about his game; little things about his service and receive also the fact that I am left hander helped. That is why I asked coach Valeriy SOLOBAEV to let me play against him. I was confident despite LEBESSON’s great experience. I guess a little luck was on my side as we all performed few remarkable recovering ” explained SIDORENKO. Kirill SKACHKOV beat Can AKKUZU (10:12 10:12 11:7 11:2 12:10). He faced 5 match balls and saved it to win the match. “I was calm. We were 2:0 up and we had space. I just kept on fighting. This is not the same French team as they would be if Gauzy is here but we seized the opportunity presented. We will celebrate for hour or two and then we will start to think about the quarterfinal. I just wish to thank all the coaches doctors and great supporters at home ” said Kirill. Czech Republic – Croatia 3:2 In a long distance thriller Czech Republic recovered from 1:2 to win the match against Croatia. In the opening duel Lubomir JANCARIK lost to Filip ZELJKO (11:13 8:11 11:8 3:11) but Tomas POLANSKY managed to level with the victory over Andrej GACINA (6:11 11:8 12:10 11:6). Frane KOJIC gave Croatia the lead once again after victory over Jiri MARTINKO (9:11 9:11 13:11 5:11) but then in thrilling five games JANCARIK overcame GACINA (8:11 11:7 13:11 8:11 11:6). In decisive match POLANSKY overcame ZELJKO (11:9 11:3 14:12). POLANSKY: “My first match against gacina was definitely much harder. I lost to him recently at a tournament in Hungary and I know how great a player is. But I watched that match yesterday and tried not to make the same mistakes. I won an important finish at 2: 1 and then I already felt that I was in good shape. I had a lot of fights against ZELKO. Of course I haven’t played such an important match at the European Championships yet but I felt good. He is excellent at service so when there is no good receive it is complicated. But I made little mistakes in the first two games with the receive so I made advantage.” Netherlands – France 0:3 France will have representative in the quarterfinal but in the Women’s Event. Without great problems France remained unbeaten. Prithika PAVADE overcame Shuohan MEN (14:12 8:11 9:11 4:11) YUAN Jia Nan beat Emine ERNST (8:11 8:11 5:11) and Audrey ZARIF prevailed against Sanne DE HOOP (8:11 8:11 6:11). “ It was our goal to reach the quarterfinals. I think my match was important for the team. It was close 1:1 and 4:4 but I managed to win. During the match I felt like I am not enough fast and I had some difficulties to get down and use my legs. I just tried to be a little bit more focused on my legs and to put more speed in the ball and then it was my turn to start to dominate a little bit the match ” said PAVADE. Czech Republic – Ukraine 1:3 Ukraine moved to quarterfinals after they victory over Czech Republic. Ganna GAPONOVA overcame Hana MATELOVA (6:11 2:11 11:4 5:11) Margaryta PESOTSKA overcame Katerina TOMANOVSKA (8:11 6:11 11:3 9:11) before Zdena BLASKOVA narrowed the gap with the victory over Solomiya BRATEYKO (11:7 8:11 11:4 11:8). In last match Hana MATELOVA lost to Margaryta PESOTSKA (6:11 8:11 3:11). “We achieved our goal and we reach the knock out stage. We were very focused and we prepared good tactics. In first match I did not feel comfortable playing against Katerina. Second duel against MATELOVA was easier ” said PESOTSKA. Denmark – Portugal 3:0 The day continued with the upsets. Next in line was Denmark who enjoyed the success against Portugal. Jonathan GROTH beat Joao GERALDO (11:8 9:11 8:11 11:7 11:9) but the biggest upset came from Anders LIND who overcame Marcos FREITAS (6:11 12:14 11:6 11:7 11:6). LIND had an traffic accident few months ago and had the surgery on his neck but he recovered well to push Denmark into the quarterfinal. Tobias RASMUSSEN closed the match with the victory over Tiago APOLONIA (11:9 13:11 4:11 6:11 11:7). “We had a perfect start in our match against Portugal Jonathan GROTH showed why he is the best by beating GERALDO. I believe that his spirit and his fighting attitude really helped the team in the next two matches by pumping us up so we could perform our best. In my match I had a very rough start I was down two zero and then I don’t know what changed but somehow I was able to turn around and for that I am very very happy. And Tobias RASMUSSEN won in the third match.

The 2021 GAZPROM European Team Championships commenced today in BT Arena in Cluj. Follow the action live on ettu.tv and live score here see the pictures here  and on all social media platforms. On the second day of the play in Cluj top seeded teams played their matches in the Group phase. The winners of the groups will progress to the quarterfinal to be played on Friday.  Croatia – Italy 3:2 No. 1 in Group G Croatia was severely tested in the match against Italy but after five thrilling matches managed to record second victory in the Group. Andrej GACINA gave Croatia impressive start with the win over Marco RECH DALDOSSO (11:7 13:11 11:5) but Niagol STOYANOV responded promptly with the win over Tomislav PUCAR (3:11 8:11 6:11). Next in lane Frane KOJIC lost full distance match against Leonardo MUTTI (6:11 11:9 12:10 8:11 9:11). GACINA pushed Croatia into decisive match after the win over STOYANOV (6:11 8:11 11:8 11:5 11:8). PUCAR sealed the match with win over RECH (11:7 11:6 11:9). “I played quite bad in the first match against Niagol but I managed to play better against Marco RECH. Serving and receiving was the most important thing when playing against him. In the opening points he is a very good but I managed to won the short points. Next duel against Czech Republic is very important for us. We will have direct clash for the place in the quarterfinal ” said PUCAR. Czech Republic – Hungary 3:1 In the same Group Czech Republic won their second match at the Championships little bit harder then yesterday against Italy. Tomas POLANSKY performed remarkable recovering to beat Adam SZUDI (11:9 11:3 8:11 9:11 11:8) and Lubomir JANCARIK was also stretched to full distance against Bence MAJOROS (9:11 13:11 6:11 11:5 11:5). Jiri MARTINKO lost to Nandor ECSEKI (9:11 11:6 5:11 9:11). In last duel POLANSKY overcame MAJOROS (11:9 8:11 11:9 11:7). “It was definitely a close game. The most important thing was that I never though I might lose it. I kept on fighting. He had some extra rallies at the beginning but I did not give up I knew if I stayed persistent it will paid of at the end ” said POLANSKY. JANCARIK: “I generally have no problem playing the opening match of the duel but it is allways better to enter the game at 1:0. I’m happy with the win because MAJOROS makes me a lot of problems each time. “ England – Poland 1:3 The top team in Group F in Women’s Event Poland commenced their journey victoriously. England did not manage to create an upset and they suffered the defeat for a second time at the Championships. Yesterday England lost to Sweden. In the opening round of the day it was Tin-Tin HO who gave her team better start with the victory over Katarzyna WEGRZYN (12:10 11:8 12:14 9:11 11:9) but then the pendulum swung. Natalia BAJOR won both her matches firstly against Maria TSAPTSINOS (11:7 11:9 12:10) and in the end against HO (7:11 14:16 9:11) without losing the game. On position no. three Anna WEGRZYN overcame Charlotte BARDSLEY (11:7 16:14 11:9). “I’m so happy. We are all very happy. We are a very young team. We’ve played without our best player LI Qian and Natalia PARTYKA. It was really hard match because the first one is always the hardest ” said BAJOR. Speaking about her matches Natalia added: “I have a good tactic since I played before against Maria and Tin-Tin and I know how they play. Tomorrow we will play against Sweden. It will be a hard match. They have Linda BERGSTROM she is really good but we will try our best and we will see.” Turkey – Netherlands 2:3 The leader in Group H Netherlands faced difficult match against Turkey. Turkey lost yesterday against France 3:0 but today they forced Dutch team to go full distance. Sibel ALTINKAYA beat Emine ERNST (8:11 12:10 11:4 11:6) to give Turkey good start but Simay KULAKCEKEN failed to stay at the same path despite brave effort and good performance against Shuohan MEN (4:11 11:9 5:11 11:6 8:11). Gul Pembe OZKAYA brought back Turkey in the game with straight matches victory over Sanne DE HOOP (11:7 11:3 11:9) before ALTINKAYA lost to MEN (4:11 9:11 9:11) and Emine ERNST beat Simay KULAKCEKEN (11:7 11:8 9:11 5:11 6:11). Shuohan MEN recorded two wins today:” I was a little bit afraid because it was also my first big match but now I’m relaxed I’m feeling very good. I did not think about the result; I didn’t think about anything. I just got there focus on what I have to do and play for myself. I told myself don’t be afraid”   Ukraine – Slovenia 3:0 Ukraine justified its rankings and overcame Slovenia in straight matches. Margaryta PESOTSKA beat Lea PAULIN (11:2 11:2 11:6) Ganna GAPONOVA continued in same style against Katarina STRAZAR (11:5 14:12 10:12 11:7) and Solomiya BRATEYKO ended the match with the win over Ana TOFANT (11:9 11:8 13:11). “Before the match we know we will lead and for sure our goal was the victory so now we are feeling okay but right now I’m already focused for the next round and next matches ” said GAPONOVA.”It was my first match in this venue so my goal was to feel the ball and the table and the atmosphere. In the beginning it was easy but later Katarina started to play better and I found that if I want to win I have to focus more at every point.” Greece – Russia 0:3 Russia entered the competition in the big style. They showed no mercy on the first hurdle and overcame Greece in straight matches. Yana NOSKOVA overcame Konstantina PARIDI (17:15 11:6 11:6) Aikaterini TOLIOU took only one game from Polina MIKHAILOVA (7:11 5:11 11:9 4:11) and Mariia TAILAKOVA beat Elisavet TERPOU in another straight games duel (4:11 2:11 4:11). “It was not as easy as the result predicts.