Spanish Real Club Cajasur Priego TM confirmed their place in the ETTU Europe Cup Men final with a 3-1 win over French Lille Metropole TT in the second leg, completing a confident performance across both matches.
After the 3-0 victory away, the Spanish side came into the return leg with control of the tie and handled the situation calmly. Robert GARDOS turned the opening match around after dropping the first game, and Hampus SODERLUND followed with another strong win to put Priego in a very comfortable position.
Lille showed some resistance through Fabio RAKOTOARIMANANA, who pulled one point back, but there was never a real shift in momentum. GARDOS stepped up once again in the fourth match and closed the tie with a composed straight-games win, sending Priego through to the final.
“I had a bit of a difficult start. Tom CLOSSET, even though he is still a junior, played very aggressively and at a high level. He had some really good points, but I stayed calm. I knew I could turn things around by changing the rhythm, and in the end I managed to do that.
Hampus SODERLUND played a great match against their number one, Romain BRARD, and that meant we were already in the final, which helped us relax a bit. Carlos MACHADO lost to Fabio RAKOTOARIMANANA, but by the last match I felt comfortable. I received BRARD’s serves very well and was also happy with my own serve. Overall, my serve and receive game worked better today.
We are very happy to be in the final. We have raised the bar for our club’s history,” said Robert GARDOS.
Real Club Cajasur Priego TM – Lille Metropole TT 3-1
- Robert GARDOS – Tom CLOSSET 3-1 (8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-8)
- Hampus SODERLUND – Romain BRARD 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-3, 11-5)
- Carlos MACHADO – Fabio RAKOTOARIMANANA 1-3 (11-6, 2-11, 7-11, 4-11)
- Robert GARDOS – Romain BRARD 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-6)
Opening leg
Lille Metropole TT – Real Club Cajasur Priego TM 0-3
- Romain BRARD – Hampus SODERLUND 1-3 (2-11, 10-12, 11-9, 10-12)
- Fabio RAKOTOARIMANANA – Robert GARDOS 0-3 (6-11, 7-11, 10-12)
- Tom CLOSSET – Carlos MACHADO 2-3 (11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 10-12, 3-6)
