France’s Alexis LEBRUN and Charlotte LUTZ will meet Germany’s Benedikt DUDA and Nina MITTELHAM in tomorrow’s Mixed Doubles final at the European Championships in Ljubljana after contrasting semifinal victories at Arena Stožice.
LEBRUN and LUTZ battled past Sweden’s Kristian KARLSSON and Christina KALLBERG 3-2, recovering from a game down and a 6-9 deficit in the second to keep their title hopes alive.
“It’s not just another final, it’s amazing. We weren’t among the favourites to reach the final at the beginning of the tournament, so we are incredibly happy and proud of what we’ve achieved. We’ve already secured a medal, but now we want to fight for the title,” said LEBRUN.
“We have very tough opponents in DUDA and MITTELHAM. They are playing extremely well, but we’ll give our best, as always.”
LUTZ pointed to their response under pressure as the decisive factor.
“They started incredibly well. We were 1-0 down and trailing 9-6 in the second game, but we managed to make better decisions and raise our level. From 1-1, the match became much more balanced. At the crucial moments, we made the right choices, and Alexis produced a huge forehand at 10-9. I’m really happy that we came through this match together.”
In the other semifinal, DUDA and MITTELHAM dominated Romania’s Eduard IONESCU and Bernadette SZOCS, winning 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-2).
“Our partnership is getting better and better. With every match, we understand each other’s movements and routines more clearly and feel increasingly comfortable at the table. If we play like we did today, it’s very difficult for our opponents to beat us,” said MITTELHAM.
DUDA praised his partner and made their ambitions clear.
“We played an incredibly good match and exploited our opponents’ weaknesses very effectively. Nina was outstanding again today. Now that we’re in the final, of course we want more than just silver.”
Mixed Doubles – Semifinal results
- Benedikt DUDA / Nina MITTELHAM (GER) beat Eduard IONESCU / Bernadette SZOCS (ROU) 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 14-12)
- Alexis LEBRUN / Charlotte LUTZ (FRA) beat Kristian KARLSSON / Christina KALLBERG (SWE) 3-2 (6-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-13, 11-9)
