LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships Kristian KARLSSON and Mattias FALCK of Sweden will play against Daniel HABESOHN and Robert GARDOS of Austria in the final of the Men’s Doubles Event at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships.   In the semi final FALCK an KARLSSON overcame Ruwen FILUS and Ricardo WALTHER of Germany (7:11 6:11 9:11 8:11).   “We were very confident in our play and read their game very well. We missed only few balls. We controlled their spins well ” said Mattias who changed his family name from KARLSSON after he got married.   They will meet Austria’s pairings and they looking forward to it.   “HABESOHN and GARDOS already beat us before in 2012 so we have an extra motive here ” said Kristian.   HABESOHN and GARDOS in the semis overcame reigning champions Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany and Jonathan GROTH of Denmark (11:8 11:8 8:11 11:8 6:11 13:11 2:11)   “It was very difficult at the beginning because we did not know how to play against them. We had never meet before and we needed time to read their game. Eventually after being down three games to one we learned what we have to do ” said GARDOS.   They learned their lesson well- decisive game finished at 11:2.   “We were mentally much stronger. Our confidence rose and they were very weak in that part. We easily sealed the match” said GARDOS.     Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official –    Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv    Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here    

LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships   In the final of the Women’s Doubles Event at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships in Alicante tomorrow Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria and Yana NOSKOVA of Russia will meet Nina MITTELHAM and Kristin LANG of Germany.   In the penultimate round Nina and Kristin overcame Sarah DE NUTTE and NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg (11:8 8:11 5:11 6:11 11:6 10:12).   “It has only been our second tournament together. We played at the World Championships before the birth of my daughter and then we had one-year break “explained LANG.” It was very difficult to play today. NI is very experienced and Nina never had played against her in singles.”   They expect that the final will be close game.   “POLCANOVA is the top seed here in singles and they just eliminated very good pairings. We know it is going to be difficult.”   POLCANOVA and NOSKOVA beat Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden and Georgina POTA of Hungary (11:9 11:1 6;11 11:6 6:11 2:11 8:11).   “We were three games to one in reverse before we recovered. It was the same as yesterday when we were 0:3 down. In fourth game today we had to change something. We played more aggressive and regained then control ” explained POLCANOVA.   They play together for few months.   “We had never played at the Championships just at the tournaments. Unfortunately mostly against Asian’s players so we never get enough far to see how good we are ” said NOSKOVA.   Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official –    Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv    Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   Since his first appearance in 1992 Vladimir SAMSONOV missed only one Continental Championships and it was last year. In a meanwhile he won three titles in singles and one in Doubles and Mixed Doubles each but he is still hungry of victories.   He proved that on the penultimate day of play at the LIEBHERR 2018 European Championships in Alicante. SAMSONOV over came no. two seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany in the Round of 16 (9:11 11:5 11:9 5:11 11:5 11:5).   “We are playing together for a long time and we know each other well. There is no big mystery for us regarding the service or tactics. However Dima was injured for a while his shape is not at the highest level ” said SAMSONOV.   There was no lack of good rallies in the match.   “At some point he was very fast. He forced me to change the tactics. He started to put every ball to the table so I had to avoid his backhand. I started to play in the middle ” said SAMSONOV.   OVTCAHROV agreed that the level of match was very high.   “In four opening games we played very fast but in last two it was different. I could not follow Vladi’s rhythm. He was very good today ” said OVTCHAROV.   After so many years in field it was interested to hear what is the biggest motive for SAMSONOV now.   “Next year Minsk will host European Games. It is huge motive for me. My city will welcome athletes at such big competition. I want to play there and I want to be good. You can not just come there and win after few weeks of practice. I am building up my shape and I hope it will be enough for good performance in Belarus. Of course before that I still want to win medal here ” said SAMSONOV.   However Germany still has the strongest ace in play. Top seeded Timo BOLL overcame Liam PITCHFORD of England in the Round of 16  (-9 10 9 4 -8 9).   “When I saw the draw and Liam in it I thought ‘This is it’. He is in very good shape here he likes to play against me I expected the difficult duel and so it was ” said BOLL. “I was not happy with the way I commenced the match. I had a bad start but I rose my game and I rebuilt my confidence.”   Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany overcame Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal (12:10 11:6 11:5 6:11 11:9).   “We knew each other very well because we played against each other for years in Saarbrucken but somehow he managed to surprise me. He was passive not as quick as I expected. However I seized the opportunity and attacked ” said FRANZISKA.   Benedikt DUDA of Germany was stretched to full distance in the match against Jon PERSSON of Sweden (9:11 11:9 4:11 11:7 11:6 11:6 8:11 3:11).   “I made few easy mistakes at the beginning so I had a shaky start. Eventually I managed to find the right rhythm.”   Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official –    Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv    Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   Newly crowned Mixed Doubles champions at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships are Ruwen FILUS and HAN Ying of Germany in the final they overcame Austria’s Stefan FEGERL and Sofia POLCANOVA (7:11 11:9 4:11 11:9 8:11).   “POLCANOVA knows me very well. It was so difficult tom play against her “ said HAN.   Prviously four-time European title winners Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC of Serbia and Ruta PASAKUSKIENE of Lithuania had to settle with bronze. Pairings who play for a first time together in Alicante FILUS and HAN progressed to the final after very fierce battle  (6:11 11:9 7:11 15:13 10:12).   “It was very tough match because we faced very experienced adversaries. In every game we had advantage but as soon as we become to passive they were back in game. In second and fourth game we had huge lead 8:3 and 7:3 but we lost ” said HAN.   FILUS added: ”It is already big success to reach the semi final.”   In other penultimate stage match Stefan FEGERL and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria overcame Patrick FRANZISKA and Petrissa SOLJA of Germany (7:11 11:1 11:13 9:11).   “We had to risk very much. Our adversaries are just way too good. They put every ball on the table so we had to play at the edge to succeed ” said POLCANOVA.   “I am disappointed but we gave our best. I think we gave them to many easy points ” said SOLJA.

LIEBHERR ITTF Europan Championships   The clash between Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany and Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus will certainly be one of the jewels of tomorrow’s competition day at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships. In Men’s Singles Event both players reached the Round 16.   Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany easily prevailed against Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia (10 -6 6 7 10) in the Round of 32.   “That was one of the best matches I played recently. The one against DEVOS yesterday and this one against SHIBAEV proved that I am in very good shape. However in the Round of 16 I am still very far from the title ” said OVTCHAROV. ”The draw showed no mercy. Tomorrow I will play against very strong SAMSONOV. It will be very difficult.”   SAMSONOV halted fantastic progress of Truls MOREGARD of Sweden (10 -8 -6 6 8 2).   “After I won the opening game I felt confident but MOREGARD change the pace of the game. I lost next two games without making many mistakes and I was forced to change something. I started to play more aggressive in order to regain the control ” said SAMOSNOV.   Jonathan GROTH of Denmark overcame Diogo CARVALHO of Portugal (-14 4 8 2 9). Reigning champion Emmanuel EBESSON of France also excited the competition. He has been beaten by Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania (9 9 10 -7 7).   “Two out of three opening games I lost after 9:9. IONESCU was better in the finish in each occasion. When he felt he is in control it was impossible to stop him. I am very disappointed but it is not the end of the World ” said LEBESSON.   WANG Yang of Slovakia suffered by the hands of Ricardo WALTHER of Germany (8 8 -7 8 10).   “I knew WANG very well because he had played in Bundesliga. However it did not help a lot WANG blocked me very effectively and I could not play fast balls. I could not win points quickly and I had to be patient. I had to wait for WANG to attack first ” said WALTHER.   Jon PERSSON of Sweden prevailed in straight games against Martin ALLEGRO of Belgium (6 6 5 14).   “I am very happy with my performance here. I took the control from thee early stage. I was very aggressive. I attacked early and forced ALLEGRO into the mistakes. I am happy with my receive service game the way I moved…”said PERSSON.   Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal inflicted the pain in the harts of the host supporters. He beat Alvaro ROBLES (7 7 6 -8 11).   “Everything was all right before fourth game. Then Alvaro raised his game the spectators woke up they became frantic and I lost my focus. I managed to calm down because I had decent lead. All in all my service game was good so I controlled the match well. Only in fourth game Alvaro managed to make the points longer ”  said APOLONIA.   Liam PITCHFORD of England needed six games to overcame Joao GERALDO of Portugal (8 9 -4 -4 5 9).   “For me it was must to have a good start but Joao made it very difficult. I was under pressure little bit nervous. I did not expect that GERALDO improved his game so much in last year. I changed my service and rhythm of the game and with good backhand managed to win eventualy ” said Liam.      Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official –    Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv    Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here Tickets for the European Championships ticketmaster

LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships   Top seeded pairings in Alicante at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany and Jonathan GROTH of Denmark successfully concluded their match against Alvaro ROBLES of Spain and Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania in the Round of 16 (3 8 7 3).   No. two seeds Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON reached the quarterfinal after victory over Jesus CANTERO and Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC (5 6 -10 9 8).   “KARAKASEVIC is very good in the short game so we had to stop him. We were aggressive ” said Mattias FALCK.   Ruwen FILUS and Ricardo WALTHER of Germany overcame WANG Yang of Slovakia and Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece (8 -8 -7 3 4 7).   “It was very strange situation for me. We had to play against two players with defensive style and both of them has very different one from each other. We knew we have to attack because will surely not and we could not afford any easy mistakes ” said WALTHER.   Simon GAUZY and Emmanuel LEBESSON of France overcame Tamas LAKATOS of Hungary and Hunor SZOCS of Romania (9 4 10 5).   “We moved well an we were very aggressive. This combination is very dangerous but I think the real challenge will be to play against Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON in next round. They are among top five doubles in Europe ” said GAUZY.   Samuel WALKER of England and Tobias RASMUSSEN of Denmark overcame Nandor ECSEKIN and Adam SZUDI of Hungary (7 9 6 10) and they will meet Ruwen FILUS and Ricardo WALTHER.   Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official –    Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv    Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here Tickets for the European Championships ticketmaster

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   The bronze medal winners at European and World Championships in 2015 LI Jie of Netherlands and LI Qian of Poland showed very convincing performance in the Round of 16 of Women’s Doubles at the LIEBHERR 2018 European Championships.   They overcame Spanish representatives Maria XIAO and Galia DVORAK in straight games (3 5 7 3).   “We had a difficult match against Ukraine’s Ganna GAPONOVA and Tetyana BILENKO yesterday but it proved useful. After the match with the players with defensive style of play it was easier for us today ” said LI Jie.   Tomorow they will meet NI Xia Lian and Sarah DE NUTTE who overcame Szandra PERGEL and Dora MADARASZ (-5 6 3 9 -5 9).   “We avenged our defeat in quarterfinal from the same pairings from two years ago. We were denied of medal I am sure because of controversy. At 9:8 we lost the point undeservedly and that cost us the match. I feel after this victory the justice was served ” said NI.   Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania has a new doubles partner Bernadette SZOCS and they reached the quarters after victory over LIU Jia and Amelie SOLJA (4 6 8 -9 14).   “LIU is very experienced player and it is always difficult to play against her but Bernadette and I understand each other very well. We have a good connection ” said SAMARA.   SAMARA and SZOCS will play against Nina MITTELHAM and Kristin LANG of Germany in the quarterfinal. German pairings overcame YU Fu and SHJAO Jieni of Portugal today (8 -7 -9 -7 9 -9). Adina DIACONU and Irina CIOBANU of Romania will meet Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria and Yana NOSKOVA of Russia.  

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships Top seed in the women’s Singles event Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria booked her place in the Round of 16 at the LEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championshi0ps i9n Alicante. In the round of 32 she overcame Irina CIOBANU of Romania in six games (6 -10 7 -8 7 7).   However CIOBANU’s compatriot Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN is still very much in game. She overcame YU Fu of Portugal (10:12 11:4 11:4 12:14 7:11 9:11).   “Last time we met I beat her but it was very difficult match at the European Championships in Luxembourg. It was 2:2 and 9:6 for her. It did not get any easier this time. On top of all we were both struggling because umpires’ strange decisions. They were taking points from both of us. At some point of game I said ‘please let us play” said Daniela. “FU has very strong service quality forehand top spin and she gave me hard time.”   Speaking about hard times Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden was stretched to full distance against France’s Stephanie LOEUILLETTE (9 -10 -10 -10 10 7 6) before she prevailed. In the same position was Aneta KUCEROVA of Czech Republic in the match against Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia (-5 -10 5 8 7 -5 -9).   “After I had won two opening games I thought it will be easy…and in split seconds it was 2:2. In the seventh game I was 6:8 down before her coach called for time out. I do not know why he did it but it helped me. After that I leveled and win ” said KUCEROVA.   Nina MITTELHAM of Germany overcame Szandra PERGEL of Hungary (11:7 11:9 11:4 11:7).   “I managed to control the match with the very good service so PERGEL did not have many options ” said MITTELHAM.   Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia was two games to one in reverse before she leveled to beat Tin Tin HO of England (14:12 6:11 7:11 11:4 15:13 11:8).   “In the opening games HO played extraordinary good. She stretched me to the limits in order to beat her. We played many times before recently in Linz and still I was surprised by her game ” said MIKHAILOVA.   At the bottom of the draw no. two seed LI Jie of Netherlands easily prevailed against ZHANG Xuan of Spain (5 4 5 7).     Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official –    Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv    Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here Tickets for the European Championships ticketmaster