The ETTU Champions League Stage 1 continued with solid performances of the favorites in Novi Sad.
Saint-Denis TT 93 recorded their second win in Group A in the opening round of the competition. The French side overcame Budaörsi Sport Club, leaving the Hungarian team still without a victory at the tournament. Hana ARAPOVIC opened the match with a win over Leila IMRE, Jie LI defeated Dora MADARASZ, and Agathe AVEZOU prevailed against Emma SZOSZNYAK.
“I think I adjusted to IMRE’s game very quickly and well, so I am very satisfied with my performance. Overall, the whole team performed at a high level. LI had a good start, but in the third game MADARASZ found her rhythm and raised her level, before Jie regained control and sealed the match. Agathe was also fully on top of her task,” explained ARAPOVIC.
Tomorrow, Saint-Denis TT 93 will face Mirandela.
“I am the same generation as Ines MATOS, so I know her quality well. COMBA is a little younger, I have never played against her, but I watched her at tournaments, so I know what to expect. Anamarija ERDELJI belongs to another generation; I have not had the chance to see her play, but I’ve heard she is a very strong defensive player. That could be tricky, but if we keep playing at this level, we should not face big problems,” added ARAPOVIC.
Coach Qiwen commented:
“We are really happy with our first two matches — the results went even better than expected. Every player contributed a lot and performed very well. Hana is our new teammate, and although it was her first time playing with us, she adapted quickly and played excellently. LI Jie, as our experienced player, is always very reliable. Agathe has shown big improvement this time and kept a very stable performance throughout the matches. Tomorrow against Mirandela will be a tough clash, but we are motivated and will try our best to continue in the same spirit.”
Portugal’s CTM Mirandela, meanwhile, fell to Spain’s MIRÓ Ganxets Costa Daurada. Olga VOROBEVA overcame Ana Marija ERDELJI’s defensive style to set the tone for the Spanish side. Andrea TODORIC defeated Ines MATOS, and Fiona Elvira RAD completed the 3–0 sweep by beating Mariana Santa COMBA.
“Before the match, Olga said she preferred to play against ERDELJI’s defensive style, and it proved to be a good decision. She gave us a strong start. I had no problems against MATOS, even though we played for the first time. The same for RAD,” explained TODORIC. “Now we are focused on the match against Budaörsi Sport Club. This win against Mirandela opened the door to the next stage, but we still need to beat the Hungarian team.”
Hosts STK Novi Sad also recorded their second win, defeating SKST Plus Hodonín in straight games after succeeding yesterday against STK Dr. Časl. Aneta MAKSUTI once again led her team with a win over Karin GROFOVA, Valeria SHCHERBATYKH beat Binyue ZHANG, and Valeria KOTCUR prevailed against Marketa SEVCIKOVA.
In the last match of the day, Polish side PGE Fibrain KU AZS Politechnika Rzeszów secured their first victory, while STK Dr. Časl remains winless. Ganna HAPONOVA was the only scorer for the Croatian side, while Yerin KIM won two matches and Zuzanna WIELGOS added one more point.
