A partnership created for the first time in Cluj-Napoca produced one of the biggest surprises of the doubles competition, as Danilo FASO of Italy and Görkem ÖÇAL of Türkiye eliminated the second-seeded Romanian pair of Iulian CHIRITA and Andrei ISTRATE on their way to the quarterfinal.
FASO and ÖÇAL recovered after dropping the opening two games to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory (8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7) and book their place in the next round.
“We decided to play together about a month and a half ago. Görkem asked me and I said yes, I would like to. Now we are very happy because we are doing very well,” said FASO.
The result added another chapter to a rivalry that has developed over recent years. At the European Youth Championships last year, FASO and ÖÇAL faced each other in the Under 15 Singles final, Doubles final and the Team event final between Italy and Türkiye, with FASO winning on each occasion.
This time, however, the two former rivals joined forces and immediately proved a dangerous combination.
“We were 2-0 down and we were not playing at our level. They were playing well, but we were not playing very well. Then we started to tell each other, ‘Come on, we can do it, we have to fight for this match.’ We started very well in each of the next games, leading 3-0, and that helped a lot,” said ÖÇAL.
Knowing the draw had placed them against the second seeds, the new pair understood the size of the challenge.
“When we saw the draw, we were not very happy, but before the match we were very focused. We wanted to beat them because after that we would have a chance to fight for medals,” said FASO.
PHOTO By henk HOMMES
