Top seeded player in the Women’s Singles Event Elena ZAHARIA of Romania successfully started her journey at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj. She overcame Isa COK of France on her first exit to the table 4-2 (11-7 11-3 11-8 4-11 8-11 11-5).
In the second round ZAHARIA overcame Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland by same margin (5 -2 -7 4 2 4).
“It was an unexpectedly difficult match to play against Zuzanna WIELGOS. At least I hope that it was a nice match to watch. My adversary managed to lead 2-1 when I realized that I must change the tactic. I started to play to her middle forehand and the course of the match changed to my favor. Tomorrow I will give everything in order to win the last match in the Group. I compete also in doubles and mixed doubles and I will do my best in order to win the medals in all three events ” said Elena ZAHARIA.
No. 2 seed Prithika PAVADE of France needed one game less to beat Poland’s Katarzyna WEGRZYN (12-10 11-9 9-11 11-9 11-3). Previously she overcame Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania (10 -9 10 6 2)
PAVADE’s teammate Camille LUTZ followed her suit and overcame Eugenia SASTRE of Spain by same margin (11-9 11-13 11-6 11-7 11-6) but failed to repeat the outcome in second match. No. 10 seed Helga DARI of Hungary succeeded in six games (-8 11 7 9 -11 9)
“It was a really difficult a tough match for me. She was the top seed in the group but I started the match telling to myself that I can do it. This morning I lost my first match in the group against Ece HARAC so I didn’t have a good start. I tried to forget about this match and I started the duel against Camille like a fresh new start. I managed to win and I can not describe how happy I am. Tomorrow morning I will have a match against SASTRE and I still hope to reach the main draw ” said DARI.
Croatia’s Hana ARAPOVIC inflicted the pain in the harts of host nation supporters by beating Bianca MEI ROSU (11-8 8-11 11-8 11-6 11-8).
“I played before against Bianca I think it was a tournament in Tunis I won also that match. I may say that I knew what to expect during this one. On the other hand the duel I just played was my very first match in this competition. Usually the first matches are not easy. But I am satisfied the way I played. I stayed focus throughout the whole match. I felt well mentally and physically. I knew which tactic to play so I managed to win ” said Hana ARAPOVIC.
In next duel ARAPOVIC beat Anna BRZYSKA of Poland in straight games (9 8 4 8).
Ozge YILMAZ of Turkiye was the only player from top 8 list to suffer against the lower ranked opposition in the first round. In long seven games Gaia MONFARDINI of Italy recorded the victory (9 9 8 -9 -7 -10 5) after she halted Ozge’s spirited recovery from 0-3. OZGE lost another thriller against Ukraine’s Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO.
“ Ozge YILMAZ is a very strong player and I was very concerned before this match. The match was very difficult for me I was down 1-3 and now I am so happy that I won 4-3. It happened when I started to be more focused to fight hard for every point and when I was not worried about the result of the match. Maybe this was the “secret” of my win. I am so happy that I won my morning match against an Italian player so with two victories it looks that I have serious chances to qualify on the main draw ” said Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO.
Ema LOBOSOVA of Slovakia overcame Rebecca MUSKANTOR of Sweden (6 2 11 2) and Sophia KLEE of Germany (10 5 3 -8 -7 10).
Speaking about the win over Swede LOBOSOVA said: “We played against each other at the European Championships in Munich quite recently in Munich. I won the match 3-1 but despite this result I expected a hard match against Rebecca. I am very happy that I won and I am looking forward for a little rest to be able to play at my full potential the next matches. I will play also in doubles and mixed doubles so I must have a good sleep. I would love to reach the quarter finals as I did last year in Belgium. Hopefully this will happen.“
