Czechia’s SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA claimed a valuable away victory over ASC GRÜNWETTERSBACH in the opening leg of the Europe Cup semi-final, held in Germany. The return leg in Prague is scheduled for 8 May.
RICARDO WALTHER gave the German club a strong start with a confident win over Tomas KONECNY. However, David REITSPIES leveled the score with a victory against Leo DE NODREST, then sealed the overall win by defeating WALTHER again in the fourth match.
Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA of Ukraine also contributed significantly by beating Brazilian Guilherme TEODORO.
Petr KAUCKÝ, coach of SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA, commented: “We went to Germany to get the best possible result for the secon leg. We didn’t expect to win 3:1. That’s great. The basis is David REITSPIES’ two points. He played relaxed and continued his performances from the semi-finals of the Czech Extraliga. I’m glad that Ievhen PRYSHCHEPA also showed an excellent performance and scored an important point. We’re leading in the series, but we’re staying grounded. The rematch will definitely be very difficult.”
David REITSPIES reflected on the victory:“It’s a great result for us. I’m glad I managed it. I was a little nervous about the match with DE NODREST, because he’s left-handed. The key was the receive, which I managed well. I had great respect for WALTHER. I played a lot of safety and balls on rotation. I think that bothered him a lot, that’s why I won.”
In the quarter-finals, ASC GRÜNWETTERSBACH overcame SKST Havířov of Czechia, while HB OSTROV z.s. defeated Poland’s UKS DOJLIDY BIAŁYSTOK.
Semi final, opening leg
ASC Grünwettersbach – SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA 1-3
- Ricardo WALTHER – Tomas KONECNY 3-0 (11-6, 12-10, 11-7)
- Leo DE NODREST – David REITSPIES 0-3 (13-15, 6-11, 4-11)
- Guilherme TEODORO – Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA 0-3 (6-11, 9-11, 9-11)
- Ricardo WALTHER – David REITSPIES 0-3 (9-11, 4-11, 9-11)
