Apuania Carrara confirmed its place on the throne of the Men’s Italian Cup and lifted the trophy for the fourth time in their history.
At PalaTennistavolo “Elia Mazzi” in Castel Goffredo they beat 3-1 the eternal rivals of Top Spin Messina WatchesTogether. In the match for the third step of the podium Tennistavolo Norbello prevailed 3-2 over Tennistavolo Genova Cervino. The medals and the cup were presented by president of FITeT Renato DI NAPOLI.
In the opening doubles of the finals Mihai BOBOCICA and Croatia’s Tomislav PUCAR won the first and the third game and Matteo MUTTI and Portugal’s Joäo MONTEIRO levelled in the second and in the fourth. In the fifth game the players of Apuania Carrara were 3-1 down and recovered up to 5-3 they missed the first two match-point and converted the third.
In the singles Tomislav PUCAR beat Leonardo MUTTI in straight games and Matteo MUTTI overcame BOBOCICA 3-1. It was not enough for Top Spin Messina because right after PUCAR accounted for Leonardo MUTTI 3-0 and closed the encounter.
“We knew” coach and the captain of Apuania Carrara Claudio VOLPI explained “this final would be very difficult and it proved to be so. Doubles are a very special event which is not easy to play. There were many ups and downs and in the end we prevailed by just one point. The singles showed a very high technical level in the crucial moments we managed to play a little better but there was nothing for granted. Comparing all the four Italian Cups we won I put in the first place the last one but also the first in 2018 the year when the event was reorganized for the first time. All the players deserve a great applause for having contributed to this result. I am sorry that Lubomir PISTEJ wasn’t here today because he was injured. I am sure that if he had been with us he would have been decisive throughout the match”.
FINALS
APUANIA CARRARA – TOP SPIN MESSINA WATCHES TOGETHER 3-1
Mihai BOBOCOCA/Tomislav PUCAR – Matteo MUTTI/Joäo MONTEIRO 3-2 (17-15 5-11 11-8 11-13 6-5)
Andrej GACINA – Leonardo MUTTI 3-0 (11-7 11-5 11-4)
Mihai BOBOCICA – Matteo MUTTI 1-3 (4-11 11-6 6-11 5-11)
Tomislav PUCAR – Leonardo MUTTI 3-0 (11-7 11-5 11-9)
TENNISTAVOLO NORBELLO – TENNISTAVOLO GENOVA CERVINO 3-2
Marco CAPPUCCIO/Sergei MOKROPOLOV – Tommaso GIOVANNETTI/Enrico PUPPO 1-3 (5-11 11-4 9-11 7-11)
Gaston ALTO – Matteo GUALDI 3-0 (11-6 11-3 11-7)
Marco CAPPUCCIO – Tommaso GIOVANNETTI 1-3 (11-6 11-13 5-11 8-11)
Gaston ALTO – Enrico PUPPO 3-0 (11-8 11-1 11-6)
Sergei MOKROPOLOV – Matteo GUALDI 3-0 (11-8 12-10 11-9)
SEMIFINALS
APUANIA CARRARA – TENNISTAVOLO GENOVA CERVINO 3-0
Mihai BOBOCICA/Tomislav PUCAR – Tommaso GIOVANNETTI/Matteo GUALDI 3-0 (11-6 11-5 11-6)
Andrea PUPPO – Enrico PUPPO 3-1 (11-8 10-12 11-7 11-5)
Mihai BOBOCICA – Tommaso GIOVANNETTI 3-0 (11-1 12-10 11-7)
TOP SPIN MESSINA WATCHES TOGETHER – TENNISTAVOLO NORBELLO 3-0
Matteo MUTTI/João MONTEIRO – Marco CAPPUCCIO/Gaston ALTO 3-1 (11-8 9-11 11-4 11-9)
Leonardo MUTTI – Sergei MOKROPOLOV 3-0 (11-9 11-5 11-7)
João MONTEIRO – Gaston ALTO 3-0 (11-2 11-6 11-5)
