In the Under 19 Girls Singles Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava, top seed Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine showed no mercy in her quarterfinal clash against Portugal’s Julia LEAL. Last year’s runner-up from Malmö needed just four games to secure her place in the semifinals.
Despite the defeat, LEAL’s performance was remarkable, she reached the quarterfinals as the No. 35 seed, significantly exceeding expectations.
Tomorrow’s semifinal will feature a thrilling showdown between two Malmö finalists: MATIUNINA and reigning champion Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania, the No. 4 seed.
Unlike MATIUNINA’s straight-game win, MEI ROSU needed six games to overcome No. 5 seed Nina GUO ZHENG of France.
“I knew from the beginning it would be a tough match because I played against her last year in the Round of 32. She is a really strong opponent. I lost the first game, but I managed to come back and win. I also had to change my tactics because she knew what to expect from me. I tried to play more into the middle and to her forehand. The last game was the most difficult and important—it was so close, but I managed to win it. I’m really happy! In the semifinal, I’ll face MATIUNINA. I played her last year in the final and won 4-0, so I’ll try to repeat that,” said MEI ROSU.
In one of the most dramatic matches of the day, No. 2 seed Mia GRIESEL of Germany nearly pulled off another miraculous comeback. After recovering from a 0-3 deficit to win 4-3 against Czechia’s Veronika POLÁKOVÁ in the Round of 16, GRIESEL found herself in the same situation against No. 8 seed Anna HURSEY of Wales in the quarterfinals.
Despite fighting back from 0-3 to level the score, GRIESEL couldn’t complete the comeback this time. HURSEY held her nerve in the decisive game and advanced to the semifinals.
“In the first three games, I played really well, then she started to come back and I got nervous. Maybe I was thinking a bit about her last match when she also came back from 0-3. I think she also changed her tactics, and that made me even more nervous. Honestly, I don’t really know what happened. In the last game, I calmed down and just tried to play my game. We’ve played a lot against each other—I’ve known her since she was young—so I knew what to expect. I’m really happy to win. It was a very tough match,” said HURSEY.
France’s Leana HOCHART, the No. 3 seed, also secured her spot in the semifinals with a solid performance against No. 11 seed Matilde PINTO of Portugal.
