Connor GREEN of England produced the biggest shock of the ROMSTAL European Under 21 Championships so far, defeating top seed and home favourite Iulian CHIRITA of Romania 4-2 (11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8) to secure a place in the Men’s Singles quarterfinals.
The result was all the more remarkable considering GREEN had only narrowly survived Stage 2, advancing from his group on countback after a difficult start to the tournament. Less than a day later, he eliminated last year’s finalist and one of the leading contenders for the title.
GREEN made an aggressive start to the encounter, taking the opening game 11-9 after successfully implementing his tactical plan.
“I think I started the match really well. The plan was to use my backhand serve a lot and try to create opportunities on the third ball. It worked well at the beginning and gave me confidence,” said GREEN.
CHIRITA responded strongly, claiming the next two games 11-6 and 11-9 to move ahead, but the English player refused to let the match slip away. GREEN levelled the contest at 2-2 before edging a dramatic fifth game 12-10 to regain the advantage.
The sixth game proved decisive. GREEN built an early lead before CHIRITA fought his way back into contention. At the crucial moments, however, the Englishman held his nerve to close out the game 11-8 and complete one of the biggest victories of his career.
“The match was very difficult. Some of the games were really close and went back and forth. In the sixth game I got a big lead, then he started coming back, but I managed to stay focused and play well on the important points,” GREEN explained.
For the Englishman, the victory completed a remarkable turnaround in Cluj-Napoca. After nearly seeing his campaign end in the group stage, he now finds himself among the final eight day after he won a historic first medal for England with Mael VAN DESSEL of Luxembourg at the Doubles event at the European Under 21 Championships.
“In the groups I only got through on countback. At one point I thought I was out of the tournament. Then I stayed in and now I’ve achieved one of the biggest wins…”
GREEN also ranked the victory among the finest moments of his career.
“I’ve had some good wins before, but I think Iulian is definitely one of the best players I’ve ever beaten. He plays at a really high level, so I’m super happy and proud that I could beat him today.”
The victory over CHIRITA adds another significant chapter to GREEN’s rapidly growing career. The 19-year-old from Nottingham became the first English junior to reach a WTT Youth Contender final when he claimed silver in Tunis in 2025, won bronze at the Europe Youth Top 10 later that year, and made history alongside Tin-Tin HO by becoming part of England’s first-ever WTT Mixed Doubles title-winning pair at WTT Feeder Düsseldorf in 2026. However, defeating the top seed and home favourite at the ROMSTAL European Under 21 Championships ranks among the finest victories of his career to date.
PHOTO by: Mihaela-Ionela BOBAR and Simion Sebastian TĂTARU
