The second day of play at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup in the Omnisports venue in Montreux brings together the continent’s elite 16 players in the women’s event. With the main draw underway, Europe’s top stars are set to clash in a series of high-level encounters as they battle for a place in the next stage of one of the most prestigious tournaments on the calendar.
All matches of the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup will be available live worldwide on ETTU.tv and YouTube ETTU official, except in the following countries and territories, where specific broadcast agreements apply and access is restricted (geo-blocked). In these regions, fans should follow the tournament exclusively on the official local broadcasters listed here.
See the pictures by Remi GROS here.
Maria XIAO – Elizabeta SAMARA 3-2 (8-11, 11-7, 24-22, 9-11, 11-6)
The opening two games betwen Maria XIAOof Spain and Elizabeta SAMARAof Romania were shared, and the turning point of the match came in a dramatic third game. XIAO showed nerves of steel in a tense, high-quality battle. She raced to a 9–3 lead before SAMARA fought back to come back. XIAO reached game point at 10–7, triggering a nerve-wracking finish in which opportunities shifted from one side to the other. SAMARA had several chances to close it out, but XIAO seized her moment at 23–22 and finally secured the game 24–22.
Competing in Montreux for the 16th time, SAMARA had reached the final last year, and her experience was evident. She responded in the fourth game, edging a tight contest to force a deciding set.
XIAO, however, did not lose focus. Playing with control and patience, she managed the decider well to seal the victory. On her third appearance in Montreux, the Spaniard improved on her previous results, having finished ninth on both earlier occasions.
“In the third game I think I had more than five set points. I was leading 10–7, if I remember correctly, and at that moment I felt a bit stressed because I really wanted to close the game. In the end we were both a little lucky, but I think I was slightly luckier in those final points. The key change was that I focused on relaxing my arm and simply playing my game, without thinking about the score. I just reacted to the ball and stayed in the rally. That mindset made the difference. After that, the fourth set went quite smoothly in SAMARA’s favor, and in the fifth my main priority was to keep the ball on the table, extend the rallies and avoid easy mistakes. I think that was important because Elizabeta became a bit tense and missed a few simple shots, which gave me extra confidence to finish the match,” said XIAO.
Sabine WINTER – Xiaona SHAN 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-8)
The all-German clash between last year’s semifinalists, top seed Sabine WINTER and No. 14 seed Xiaona SHAN, was a close contest, but WINTER never truly lost control. She justified her status by securing victory in straight games.
“The first match of a tournament is always very difficult, especially against a teammate. Nana is a very strong player, and it was extremely important that I was able to win the second game after trailing 4–8. Otherwise, it would have been an even tougher battle to come through. I didn’t feel any of the muscular problems I’ve had in recent weeks during today’s match, I was pain-free,” explained WINTER.
