The Singles Events at the European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava have reached the penultimate stage. The biggest upset in the Men’s Singles was created by Miguel PANTOJA of Spain, who reached the semi-final, while in the Women’s event, defending champion Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine survived a tough clash against the top seed.
In the quarter-finals, Miguel PANTOJA, seeded no. 23, defeated no. 7 seed Andrei ISTRATE of Romania 4-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5). No. 3 seed Flavien COTON of France prevailed against Daniel BERZOSA of Spain in a tight five-game match (5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 10-12).
Top seed Eduard IONESCU of Romania was also eliminated, losing to his teammate, no. 4 seed Iulian CHIRITA, in straight games (11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4).
Last year’s bronze medallist, Andre BERTELSMEIER of Germany, who had survived a tough Round of 16 battle against Alexis KOURAICHI of France, will be the highest-ranked seed in the semi-finals. The no. 2 seed edged past Darius MOVILEANU of Romania in a dramatic full-distance clash (12-10, 12-14, 11-7, 8-11, 3-11, 13-11, 8-11).
In the Women’s Singles event, 2022 champion and last year’s runner-up Elena ZAHARIA of Romania overcame Anna BRZYSKA of Poland 4-1 (11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8). In the semi-finals, she will meet the reigning champion and no. 2 seed Veronika MATIUNINA. The Ukrainian recovered from a 1-3 deficit to defeat 2023 champion and last year’s bronze medallist Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia in a seven-game battle (10-12, 11-4, 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 8-11).
The match between French Under 15 player Nina GUO ZHENG, seeded no. 26, and fifth seed Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania also went the distance. SINGEORZAN emerged victorious 4-3 (11-4, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 3-11, 14-12). She will face Wales’ no. 3 seed Anna HURSEY, who justified her status by defeating Italy’s no. 6 seed Nicole ARLIA 4-1 (9-11, 11-7, 10-12, 9-11, 5-11).
