The lineup for the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup Round of 16 is complete. On the opening day of the competition in Montreux, after two wins in the qualification stage, Solomiya BRATEYKO of Ukraine, Sabine WINTER of Germany, her compatriot Benedikt DUDA, and Daniel HABESOHN of Austria secured their places in the main draw.
On her debut in Montreux, 20-year-old BRATEYKO reached the main draw after wins over Giorgia PICCOLIN of Italy and Ivana MALOBABIC of Croatia.
“I was so nervous before my match. Firstly, when I saw the draw, I thought I had to win the opening match and play well… and then I was mentally prepared for the clash against Xia Lian NI. But then Giorgia won, and my chances rose. Unfortunately, even that didn’t help me; I was so stressed. I wanted to get into the main draw, and now I am so happy,” said BRATEYKO.
HABESOHN overcame Joao GERALDO of Portugal in the second round, having previously beaten Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia. Both matches saw the momentum swing back and forth in dramatic turns.
“It cost me some years of life, matches like this,” said HABESOHN, laughing. “After the GERALDO match, it was quite strange, especially in the last game. I was up 5-1 and had the game completely under control in the fifth. Then, I started to play a little bit passively, and he seized the opportunity and didn’t miss. I realized my mistake.”
Recording eight points in a row or losing it, you can never predict Daniel’s game.
“My game is generally very risky. I am very focused on the balls, and I am trying to make sure it will work. In these two matches, I managed to hit more than I missed. Against Joao, I had a good tactic in the decisive game. At 7-7, I switched to my backhand serve, and it was perfect because he misread it twice, so I got direct points.”
In 2019, HABESOHN had his best result in Montreux. In the semifinals, he lost to Timo BOLL after prevailing against Simon GAUZY and Marcos FREITAS.
Sabine WINTER inflicted pain on the host nation supporters by beating Rachel MORET of Switzerland.
“This was my first international match since switching to the anti-topspin rubber, and I was very satisfied with it. Today, you could see how different matches with the anti can be, depending on the opponent,” said WINTER.
Runner-up at the European Championships in Linz last year, Benedikt DUDA overcame Liam PITCHFORD to secure his place among the top 16 players tomorrow.
“This was a solid performance from me. It was my first international match against him ever—we had only played once in the Bundesliga a few years ago. But I handled him well in the serve-and-return game and am very satisfied with my performance. Now I have reached my first milestone, and from here, we’ll take it one round at a time.”
See the pictures here.
Match for the place in the Top 16
- Solomiya BRATEYKO of Ukraine – Giorgia PICCOLIN of Italy 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-7)
- Sabine WINTER of Germany – Rachel MORET of Switzerland 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-2)
- Benedikt DUDA of Germany – Liam PITCHFORD of England 1-3 (5-11, 11-3, 11-2, 11-7)
- Joao GERALDO of Portugal – Daniel HABESOHN of Austria 2-3 (11-13, 12-10, 11-6, 7-11, 7-11)
