SF SKK El Nino Praha secured a strong advantage in the opening leg of the Europe Cup quarterfinal, defeating TTC Sokah Hoboken 3-0 away from home. With the return leg scheduled for tomorrow, the Czech side moves into a favorable position in the race for a semifinal place.
Praha set the tone early as Tomas KONECNY overcame Quentin ROBINOT in straight games. The second match proved to be the closest contest of the evening, with David REITSPIES edging Olav KOSOLOSKY in a five-game battle to extend the visitors’ lead. Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA then sealed the overall victory with a dominant performance against Cedric FLEBUS.
El Nino Praha Coach Petr KAUCKÝ said : “Tomáš KONEČNÝ certainly made a very important step in the opening singles by defeating Quentin ROBINOT. Then David REITŠPIES, who doesn’t usually like playing against left-handers, overcame Olav KOSOLOSKY, which probably decided the match. The spectators also enjoyed the shortened fifth game. We won 3-0, but of course nothing is decided yet. We will have to stay fully focused in the second leg, because now we are the big favorites to advance.”
Opening leg results:
TTC Sokah Hoboken – SF SKK El Nino Praha 0-3
- Quentin ROBINOT – Tomas KONECNY 0-3 (7-11, 8-11, 8-11)
- Olav KOSOLOSKY – David REITSPIES 2-3 (11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 2-6)
- Cedric FLEBUS – Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA 0-3 (2-11, 4-11, 2-11)
