The semifinal line-up in the Under 19 Girls Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar is complete. France will face Germany, while Portugal will meet Romania.
Top seeds France survived a major scare to reach the semifinals, recovering from 0-2 down to defeat fifth seeds Spain 3-2.
Maria BERZOSA gave Spain the opening point with a four-game victory over Leana HOCHART. The Spaniard controlled the opening two games before HOCHART responded in the third, but BERZOSA closed out the match 11-9 in the fourth.
Camila MOSCOSO then edged Nina GUO ZHENG in the closest contest of the tie. After the players shared the opening four games, MOSCOSO held her nerve in a dramatic decider, prevailing 17-15 to put Spain within one point of the semifinals.
France responded through Jade HUYNH, who produced a straight-games victory over Renata SHYPSHA to keep her team alive.
GUO ZHENG then levelled the tie with an emphatic straight-games win over BERZOSA.
The decisive fifth singles saw HOCHART rise to the occasion. She defeated MOSCOSO in four games, recovering after narrowly losing the second 12-10 before taking the final two 11-6 and 11-9 to complete France’s remarkable comeback.
Sixth seeds Germany booked their place in the semifinals with a straight matches victory over 15th seeds Bulgaria.
Koharu ITAGAKI gave Germany the perfect start with a dominant straight-games victory over Nina NIKOLOVA. Lorena MORSCH doubled Germany’s advantage by defeating Anita PETKOVA in straight games. PETKOVA pushed hard in the opening game, but MORSCH held her nerve to edge it 14-12 before taking firm control of the next two, winning 11-6 and 11-5.
Lisa-Sophie WANG then completed the clean sweep with a four-game victory over Sidelya MUTLU. After winning the opening two games comfortably, WANG saw MUTLU respond in the third, but the German regained control to close out the match 11-1.
Fourth seeds Portugal secured their place in the semifinals with a 3-1 victory over seventh seeds Austria.
Mariana SANTA COMBA gave Portugal the perfect start by defeating Nina SKERBINZ in four games. After dropping the second, SANTA COMBA responded strongly to take the next two 11-8 and 11-7.
Julia LEAL then extended Portugal’s advantage in the closest match of the tie. Mariia LYTVYN forced a deciding game after recovering from a two-game deficit, but LEAL held her nerve to prevail 11-6 in the fifth.
Austria reduced the deficit through Elina FUCHS, who overcame Beatriz PINTO in four games. After taking the opening game comfortably, FUCHS edged two dramatic deuce games, 19-17 and 15-13, to keep Austria’s hopes alive.
LEAL returned to seal Portugal’s place in the last four. She produced another composed display to defeat SKERBINZ in four games, winning 11-5, 11-5, 8-11 and 11-8.
Portugal coach Marco RODRIGUES said SANTA COMBA’s opening victory had transformed the tie.
“We knew from the beginning that this would be a very difficult match. Nina is a very strong player, but Austria’s other players are also at a high level. Mariana’s victory over Nina in the opening match made a huge difference. It gave us confidence and made the tie a little more comfortable.
“Julia then played an excellent match to win 3-2. I expected Beatriz to win the third singles, but she struggled against Elina’s backhand pimple rubber. At the start, Beatriz made a few mistakes against it and then became a little hesitant because she was afraid of missing. That allowed the Austrian player to take control.
“Julia is playing at a very high level. She has a strong backhand, a strong forehand and, most importantly, many tactical options. She can adapt to different styles of play, and today she showed that once again.”
LEAL was pleased with the balance and confidence she showed in both of her victories.
“I think I played well today and felt confident throughout the tie. My biggest strength was that both my backhand and forehand were working well, so I felt I had good balance in my game.
“Before the match, I expected Nina to be the toughest opponent, but Mariia also played at a very high level. That made my first match extremely difficult, and I was really happy to come through it 3-2.
“After that victory, my confidence grew even more. I went into my second match believing in my game, and I was able to maintain a high level to secure the win for the team.”
Second seeds Romania completed the semifinal line-up by edging third seeds Poland 3-2 in a thrilling quarterfinal.
Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA gave Poland the opening point after a dramatic five-game victory over Alesia Sofia SFERLEA. After the players shared the opening two games, SFERLEA edged the third 14-12, but RAJKOWSKA responded by taking the final two 11-7 and 11-7.
Bianca MEI ROSU levelled the tie with a straight-games victory over Karolina HOLDA.
Natalia BOGDANOWICZ restored Poland’s advantage by defeating Patricia STOICA in four games. STOICA won the opener, but BOGDANOWICZ responded emphatically to take the next three.
MEI ROSU once again proved decisive for Romania, producing another dominant straight-games victory, this time over RAJKOWSKA, to force a deciding fifth match.
SFERLEA then completed Romania’s comeback. After winning the opening game, she saw HOLDA respond by taking the next two, but the Romanian regained control when it mattered most, winning the fourth and fifth 11-6 and 11-6 to secure Romania’s place in the semifinals.
