Other Events | 8 Feb 2014
MAZE’s return in style at Europe Cup
Agonizing wait and painful recovery are over. Michael MAZE is back. On his first tournament after brief appearance at the LIBEHERR European Championships in Austria last year, at the DHS 2014 Europe Cup, Michael MAZE reached at least the semifinal of the
Agonizing wait and painful recovery are over. Michael MAZE is back. On his first tournament after brief appearance at the LIBEHERR European Championships in Austria last year, at the DHS 2014 Europe Cup, Michael MAZE reached at least the semifinal of the Men’s Singles Event. “It is so nice to play again. After 15 months finally I am back on track. I do not want to make any predictions, and I go one step at the time,” said MAZE.
At the opening day MAZE beat Alexey SMIRNOV and lost five games duel against Marcos FREITAS. He stood the challenge of playing full distance match, recovered after defeat against Portugal’s player to secure the quarterfinal in the duel against Russia’s SMIRNOV.
“In Schwechat I just came to secure my staying at the rankings. I was afraid to move; now it is completely different situation. I feel good. Against FREITAS I had a bad start, but recovered to level. Thanks to my easy mistakes I lost the decisive game. On the other hand Alex was not in his best shape.”
In quarterfinal MAZE beat Greek star Panagiotis GIONIS, but more then victory he underlined the fact that he is able to enjoy the game again. “Finally, after one year of hell. I do not know what to expect from future, but so far I enjoy every moment.”
But certainly, you set some goals. “The time frame works for me. Until next January I do not expect a lot. Then, I hope I will be ready for 2015 World Championships and of course I will give my best to be at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. In between, we will have European championships… As I said the time is on my side. Things like this tournament, big championships, clashes with the best players are the things that motivate me. The heat from the great matches inspires me. This is what I living for and I will fight to come back on my top again.”
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