Champions League Men | 8 Mar 2019

TTCLM: Fakel Gazprom escapes from 0-2 in France

TTCLM semi-finals, Leg 1: Vaillante Sports Angers – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg 2:3

 

French club Vaillante Sports Angers was very close to create big upset in the first semi-final leg of 2018/19 TTCLM, but former four-time champions and current no. 2 seed Fakel Gazprom Orenburg managed to reverse the score from 0:2 to 3:2 in the game held tonight, March 8th, in the French city of Angers. Three out of five encounters have been extended to full distance.

 

Actual world no. 60 Jon PERSSON prevailed against China’s YAN An 3:2 (9:11, 12:10, 11:7, 13:15, 11:6). Host showed one of his best TTCLM games in last couple of years, playing against former world no. 7.

 

Former world Top 20 player, Jens LUNDQVIST (current world no. 265) upset last year’s world no. 1 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (now no. 14) after full five games to set 2:0 lead for his side. Host had a chance to close the game in the fourth set, but German has erased his 7:4 and 9:8 lead.

 

Two lefthanders met in the third game Joao GERALDO vs. Marcos FREITAS, two teammates from Portugal National Team who won team gold at the 2014 European Championships on home soil. FREITAS won in four games, after two match-points saved by GERALDO (8:10, 10:10).

 

OVTCHAROV was extended to full distance by PERSSON in the fourth clash, reversing the score from 1-2 to 3-2. The ultimate clash was the only one decided in straight games: LUNDQVIST vs. YAN 0:3, but it wasn’t so easy for Chinese as result speaks.

 

2018/19 TTCLM semi-finals, Leg 1

 

Vaillante Sports Angers – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg 2:3

 

Jon PERSSON – YAN An 3:2 (9:11, 12:10, 11:7, 13:15, 11:6)

Jens LUNDQVIST – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 3:2 (11:9, 4:11, 11:8, 9:11, 11:7)

Joao GERALDO – Marcos FREITAS 1:3 (9:11, 12:10, 6:11, 10:12)

Jon PERSSON – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 2:3 (11:5, 8:11, 13:11, 5:11, 2:11)

Jens LUNDQVIST – YAN An 0:3 (6:11, 14:16, 4:11)