In the opening leg of the Champions League Women quarterfinal, METZ TT triumphed over ETIVAL A.S.R.T.T. in an all-French clash. The star of the day was Adina DIACONU, who delivered an outstanding performance by defeating both Jieni SHAO and Liu YANGZI in style. Mariia TAILAKOVA also contributed with a victory over Liu YANGZI, while Charlotte LUTZ secured the only point for the visitors from Etival by beating Christina KALLBERG.
Adina DIACONU reflected on her impressive performance:
“Today, I think I played some of my best table tennis in a long time. In the first match against Shao JIENI, I played perfectly. By the way, the match wasn’t as easy as the score might suggest—Jieni is a very good player, but today everything worked for me. Mentally, I was ready to fight, and I also had a very good tactic.
In the second match, I played against YANGZI Liu, a player I had never beaten before. Every time, I lost very close matches, 3-2. But today, I felt like it was my day. I stayed very calm in the important moments and made good decisions.
I’m very proud of myself and my team for the win tonight. We had a great fight against a very strong team, Etival. It’s not over yet, but we’re ready to fight. Our goal is to reach the semifinals of the Champions League this year!”
In another quarterfinal match, UCAM Cartagena TM proved too strong for ttc berlin eastside. Maria XIAO dominated Nina MITTELHAM and Xiaona SHAN, who also lost to Sofia Xuan ZHANG. Sabina SURJAN managed to secure the only point for the German club by defeating Yao LI.
“We knew it would be a very tough match. ttc berlin eastside is one of the favorite teams to win the Champions League title, so we had no pressure at all. We also played without our number one player, which took even more pressure off us. It was a really good day for us, and we are very happy with the win” said Maria XIAO.
Champions League Women reigning champions from Poland, KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG, recorded a close victory in Italy against ASD QUATTRO MORI. Natalia BAJOR was the backbone of the team’s success, winning against Elizabet ABRAAMIAN in a full five-game match and securing the final victory over Tania PLAIAN. Earlier, Tania PLAIAN overcame her national teammate Elizabeta SAMARA, who also lost to ABRAAMIAN. Fu YU was stretched to full distance in her clash against Miriam CARNOVALE.
The return leg in Poland will be played on 14th February.
METZ TT – ETIVAL A.S.R.T.T 3-1
- Adina DIACONU – Jieni SHAO 3-0 (11-2, 11-2, 11-2)
- Mariia TAILAKOVA – Liu YANGZI 3-1 (5-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-6)
- Charlotte LUTZ – Christina KALLBERG 1-3 (4-11, 6-11, 11-5, 3-11)
- Adina DIACONU – Liu YANGZI 3-1 (9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6)
UCAM Cartagena TM – ttc berlin eastside 3-1
- Maria XIAO – Nina MITTELHAM 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-5)
- Sofia Xuan ZHANG – Xiaona SHAN 3-1 (2-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8)
- Yao LI – Sabina SURJAN 0-3 (9-11, 10-12, 9-11)
- Maria XIAO – Xiaona SHAN 3-1 (12-10, 11-7, 3-11, 13-11)
ASD QUATTRO MORI – KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG 2-3
- Elizabet ABRAAMIAN – Natalia BAJOR 2-3 (11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 3-11, 4-6)
- Tania PLAIAN – Elizabeta SAMARA 3-2 (11-3, 9-11, 11-7, 6-11, 6-5)
- Miriam CARNOVALE – Fu YU 2-3 (11-9, 4-11, 11-7, 7-11, 3-6)
- Elizabet ABRAAMIAN – Elizabeta SAMARA 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-9)
- Tania PLAIAN – Natalia BAJOR 1-3 (11-7, 10-12, 2-11, 6-11)
