Aleksei SAMOKHIN of Russia remains unbeaten in the Under 19 Boys event at the Europe Youth Top 10 in Antibes after another strong day, while France’s Antoine NOIRAULT produced a perfect Saturday to stay firmly in contention.
See the pictures by Anthoine BERTHELEMY here.
SAMOKHIN carried his perfect record from the opening day into Saturday and immediately faced a demanding test against Bulgaria’s Yoan VELICHKOV. The match was level after four games, but SAMOKHIN took the final two to secure a 4-2 victory.
His evening encounter with Portugal’s Tiago ABIODUN was even closer. ABIODUN led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but SAMOKHIN responded each time. The Russian took the sixth game to force a decider and completed the comeback in the seventh for a 4-3 victory.
ABIODUN nevertheless enjoyed a strong day. He beat Poland’s Marcel BLASZCZYK 4-2 before producing one of the best comebacks of the competition against VELICHKOV. Trailing 3-0, ABIODUN won four games in succession to claim a dramatic 4-3 victory.
NOIRAULT was flawless on Saturday, adding three victories to his campaign. The French player opened with a 4-1 win over Slovakia’s Samuel ARPAS before beating BLASZCZYK by the same score.
His final match against VELICHKOV went the full distance. The Bulgarian held a 3-1 advantage, but NOIRAULT turned the contest around, winning the final three games to complete a 4-3 victory and a perfect second day.
France’s Nathan PILARD also strengthened his position with two victories. He beat ARPAS 4-1 before overcoming BLASZCZYK by the same score in the evening session.
ARPAS finished the day on a high after a dramatic seven-game contest against France’s Flavio MOURIER. The Slovak player trailed 3-1 but recovered to win the final three games and take the match 4-3.
The competition was also affected by injuries, with Poland’s Patryk ZYWORONEK and Romania’s Robert ISTRATE forced to withdraw.
With the decisive matches still to come, unbeaten SAMOKHIN has the advantage, while ABIODUN, PILARD and NOIRAULT remain firmly involved in the battle for the U19 Boys title.
Round 1
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) – Patryk ZYWORONEK (POL) 4-0 (0, 0, 0, 0)
- Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) – Samuel ARPAS (SVK) 4-0 (9, 8, 7, 3)
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) – Robert ISTRATE (ROU) 4-2 (-7, 9, 6, -10, 9, 5)
- Tiago ABIODUN (POR) – Flavio MOURIER (FRA) 4-2 (3, 7, -9, -7, 9, 9)
- Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) – Nathan PILARD (FRA) 1-4 (-9, -11, -9, 8, -10)
Round 2
- Patryk ZYWORONEK (POL) – Nathan PILARD (FRA) 0-4 (0, 0, 0, 0)
- Flavio MOURIER (FRA) – Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) 1-4 (-5, -9, -7, 6, -4)
- Robert ISTRATE (ROU) – Tiago ABIODUN (POR) 3-4 (-6, -8, 5, -8, 8, 9, -10)
- Samuel ARPAS (SVK) – Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) 2-4 (-9, -4, 8, -5, 9, -6)
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) – Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) 2-4 (6, -7, -11, 9, -4, -7)
Round 3
- Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) – Patryk ZYWORONEK (POL) 4-0 (0, 0, 0, 0)
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) – Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) 4-3 (-5, -8, -8, 9, 11, 7, 4)
- Tiago ABIODUN (POR) – Samuel ARPAS (SVK) 4-2 (3, -9, 9, 10, -9, 5)
- Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) – Robert ISTRATE (ROU) 4-2 (4, 7, 10, -9, -8, 9)
- Nathan PILARD (FRA) – Flavio MOURIER (FRA) 2-4 (10, -3, 9, -7, -4, -7)
Round 4
- Samuel ARPAS (SVK) – Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) 1-4 (9, -9, -6, -7, -5)
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) – Tiago ABIODUN (POR) 2-4 (7, -10, -7, 8, -6, -8)
- Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) – Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) 2-4 (8, -9, 7, -7, -10, -8)
Round 5
- Tiago ABIODUN (POR) – Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) 4-3 (-3, -9, -7, 7, 8, 3, 6)
- Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) – Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) 4-1 (6, -4, 6, 6, 11)
- Nathan PILARD (FRA) – Samuel ARPAS (SVK) 4-1 (6, -9, 9, 4, 7)
Round 6
- Samuel ARPAS (SVK) – Flavio MOURIER (FRA) 4-3 (-8, 6, -7, -8, 5, 7, 9)
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) – Nathan PILARD (FRA) 1-4 (-9, -8, -8, 10, -7)
- Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) – Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) 3-4 (5, -8, 8, 6, -11, -3, -6)
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) – Tiago ABIODUN (POR) 4-3 (-7, 8, -9, 3, -8, 8, 10)
Round 7 – 12:30
- Antoine NOIRAULT (France) – Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia)
- Nathan PILARD (France) – Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria)
- Flavio MOURIER (France) – Marcel BLASZCZYK (Poland)
Round 8 – 16:30
- Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria) – Flavio MOURIER (France)
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia) – Nathan PILARD (France)
- Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal) – Antoine NOIRAULT (France)
Round 9 – 19:50
- Nathan PILARD (France) – Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal)
- Flavio MOURIER (France) – Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia)
- Samuel ARPAS (Slovakia) – Marcel BLASZCZYK (Poland)
