The second stage of the Men’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava commenced with a major upset. On his first appearance at the table, since the top-seeded players were exempt from Stage 1, top seed Eduardo IONESCU of Romania lost to Spain’s Miguel PANTOJA 2-4 (7-11, 11-2, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9, 10-12).
Seeded at position no. 23, PANTOJA immediately managed to put the match under his control.
“In the opening four games I felt very confident. With my deep service game and short balls on his serve, I was the one setting the rhythm. I was playing to the middle of the table and was killing his balls. I felt good and confident. After 3-1, IONESCU changed his service. He put more pressure with longer balls and I had to adjust. Luckily, I managed to withstand his comeback and win,” explained PANTOJA.
Yesterday, PANTOJA advanced from his group with two wins and one defeat. He beat Ignas SISANOVAS of Lithuania 3-1, Sweden’s Olle STAHL 3-0, and lost to Bulgaria’s Yoan VELICHKOV by a narrow margin of 2-3.
“I did not face any troubles in the two matches I won, but against VELICHKOV I struggled a lot. He is a left-hander and his service is very good, so it was not easy to receive,” said PANTOJA.
IONESCU is currently ranked no. 14 in Europe. His best result so far was a win over Filip ZELJKO of Croatia (ranked no. 44).
“I was Spanish Under 19 champion and I also reached the Round of 16 at the European Youth Championships, so I consider this win as my best result so far.”
Also, no. 8 seed Kas VAN OOST had a rough start in Stage 2. In the opening round of the group stage, the Dutch player suffered a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Germany’s Tom SCHWEIGER, seeded no. 22 (12-10, 8-11, 4-11, 8-11, 9-11).
“We often train together so we know each other well. I am comfortable with his game. He is very active and I managed to take control of the match quickly. I lost the opening game, but I felt well and was in good rhythm,” said SCHWEIGER.
Yesterday, SCHWEIGER dropped only one game in his opening match against Nazar TRETIAK of Ukraine. Dane Johan Engberg HAVSTEEN and Khai Noah LAM lost to him in straight games.
“It was a good start, a little bit of a long day since I played a match at 9 PM yesterday, but eventually it was good. I am still fresh and well adjusted to this venue.”
SCHWEIGER won bronze in doubles at the European Youth Championships and was a member of the German teams that reached the podium at both the European and World Youth Championships.
In Group F, Hugo DESCHAMPS of France, seeded no. 17, overcame no. 6 seed Lei BALASZ of Hungary in a full seven-game battle (16-14, 12-10, 6-11, 12-10, 2-11, 8-11, 9-11).
The other five top seeds, Andre BERTELSMEIER of Germany, Flavien COTON of France, Iulian CHIRITA of Romania, Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal, and Andrei ISTRATE of Romania, all prevailed in their opening group matches in Bratislava.
You can see pictures by T. Sereda here.
