The medal winners in the Men’s Singles event at the ROMSTAL European Under 21 Championships were confirmed today as Darius MOVILEANU of Romania, Andre BERTELSMEIER of Germany, Wim VERDONSCHOT of Germany and Connor GREEN of England advanced to the semifinals.
Playing in front of a home crowd, fourth seed MOVILEANU produced one of his most convincing performances of the tournament, defeating 13th seed Yoan VELICHKOV of Bulgaria 4-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4).
The victory secured MOVILEANU’s first semifinal appearance at the European Under 21 Championships.
“First of all, I played a really good match. It’s very important for me. It’s my first semifinal in Under 21 and I will give my best,” said MOVILEANU.
The Romanian revealed that the performance was even more impressive considering he was not fully fit.
“Actually, I didn’t feel so good. I have an injury, but somehow, with the help of my team, I managed to play well despite it.”
Asked what made the difference, MOVILEANU pointed to his mental strength and quality in the short game.
“My mental game was strong and my service-receive game was very good.”
Second seed Andre BERTELSMEIER ended the hopes of another Romanian medal contender, overcoming sixth seed Andrei ISTRATE 4-1 (8-11, 11-2, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9). After dropping the opening game, the German quickly found his rhythm and controlled the match to book his place in the last four.
Third seed VERDONSCHOT also secured a medal after defeating Portugal’s 11th seed Tiago ABIODUN 4-1 (16-14, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-5).
The German was pleased to see his hard work rewarded.
“I am always working hard and I am very happy that I am being rewarded with this good tournament in all three categories,” said VERDONSCHOT.
He felt confident from the beginning after identifying weaknesses in his opponent’s return game.
“Yes, because I saw that he had problems receiving my serve. I also saw that I could banana flick his serve, so this gave me confidence.”
For VERDONSCHOT, maintaining discipline was the key challenge.
“The biggest challenge was keeping it cool and playing disciplined until the end.”
The closest contest of the round saw England’s Connor GREEN edge Poland’s ninth seed Mateusz ZALEWSKI in a dramatic seven-game battle. GREEN eventually prevailed 4-3 (11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5) after recovering from 2-3 down to claim the final semifinal spot.
Men’s Singles Quarterfinals
Darius MOVILEANU (Romania) – Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria) 4-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4)
Andrei ISTRATE (Romania) – Andre BERTELSMEIER (Germany) 1-4 (11-8, 2-11, 9-11, 10-12, 9-11)
Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal) – Wim VERDONSCHOT (Germany) 1-4 (14-16, 11-9, 5-11, 9-11, 5-11)
Connor GREEN (England) – Mateusz ZALEWSKI (Poland) 4-3 (11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5)
PHOTO by: Mihaela-Ionela BOBAR and Simion Sebastian TĂTARU
