Several leading contenders saw their title hopes ended in the opening knockout round of the Under 19 Singles events at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar. While most of the favourites advanced, both the boys’ and girls’ draws witnessed notable upsets that opened up the competition.
The Under 19 Boys Singles Round of 64 produced a series of surprises, with four of the top ten seeds eliminated.
Top seed Marcel BLASZCZYK of Poland made an impressive start, beating Spain’s Alvaro GIMENO in straight games. Second seed Nathan LAM of France also progressed, although Montenegro’s Stefan RADONJIC provided strong resistance before LAM sealed a five-game victory.
Fourth seed Antoine NOIRAULT of France had to dig dip against Poland’s Mateusz SAKOWICZ. Portugal’s fifth seed Tiago ABIODUN delighted the home crowd with a commanding straight-games win over Israel’s Natanel ABRAMOV, while seventh seed Robert ISTRATE of Romania recovered from losing the opening game to defeat Israel’s Or MAGEN in six.
The biggest upset came when third seed Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia was eliminated by Serafim ORLOV (AIN). After trailing by two games, ARPAS fought back to level the match, but ORLOV regained the initiative to clinch the deciding game 11-9.
Another major surprise followed as sixth seed Balazs LEI of Hungary suffered a straight-games defeat to Croatia’s Deni VALE.
VALE admitted that facing a higher-ranked opponent allowed him to play freely.
“Before the match, I didn’t feel any pressure because he was the sixth seed. I just focused on playing my own game and doing what I normally do. I’m very happy with my performance today. My tactic was to serve to his forehand and be aggressive from the start. If he was able to make the first attack, I knew I would be in trouble because he’s a very powerful player on both sides. That’s why I tried to keep the serve short and make the first attack myself. That worked well today.
“I just want to take it one match at a time. Every player at this stage knows how to play, so I don’t think about whether I have a good or a bad draw. Everyone is strong, and I just want to focus on the next match.”
Eighth seed Ivan KAHN of the Netherlands also exited the competition after losing in six games to Poland’s Jan MRUGALA, while tenth seed Samuel MICHNA of Poland fell to Sweden’s Peter ALESTEDT in five games.
Nathan PILARD of France advanced comfortably against Belgium’s Matt CLOSSET, Romania’s Robert PODAR defeated Spain’s Dario SALCEDO in five games, and Hungary’s Botond VARGA impressed with a straight-games victory over Austria’s Julian RZIHAUSCHEK.
Among the closest encounters, Scotland’s Kailun YUAN edged Denmark’s Dominykas SAMUOLIS 12-10 in the deciding game, while Poland’s Patryk ZYWORONEK recovered from two games down to defeat Estonia’s Pert LEHTLAAN in another seven-game thriller.
Spain’s Francesc CARRERA also needed the full distance before overcoming Germany’s Noah HERSEL 11-8 in the seventh game. Ukraine’s Nazarii SOLODKYI, Sweden’s Noa DAHLSTROM, Slovakia’s Damian FLORO and Serbia’s Uros NINKOVIC were among the other players to secure places in the Round of 32.
The Under 19 Girls Singles draw was considerably kinder to the favourites, although it still produced one major upset.
The biggest shock came when Poland’s Matylda HADRYS eliminated eighth seed Maria BERZOSA of Spain in emphatic fashion. HADRYS dominated the encounter from start to finish, recording a convincing 11-6, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8 victory.
Top seed Nina GUO ZHENG of France recovered after dropping the opening game against Poland’s Zofia SLIWKA before prevailing in six games. Third seed Leana HOCHART of France advanced comfortably in straight games, while fourth seed Julia LEAL delighted the home supporters with a commanding victory over Austria’s Mariia LYTVYN.
Fifth seed Karolina HOLDA of Poland and sixth seed Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia also advanced without dropping a game. Seventh seed Natalia BOGDANOWICZ of Poland progressed against Bulgaria’s Sidelya MUTLU.
Ninth seed Alesia Sofia SFERLEA of Romania survived one of the most dramatic matches of the day, edging Denmark’s Maja HANSEN in seven games after recovering from an early deficit.
Tenth seed Lilou MASSART of Belgium enjoyed a comfortable straight-games victory over Romania’s Andreea BAIASU, while 11th seed Nina SKERBINZ of Austria fought back from 2-1 down to eliminate Sweden’s Gabriela AALTONEN in six games.
France’s Alexia NODIN, Germany’s Lisa-Sophie WANG, Israel’s Elinor DAVIDOV, Hungary’s Judit NAGY, Luxembourg’s Enisa SADIKOVIC, Hungary’s Rebeka NAGY, Eseniia SHIROKOVA (AIN), Uliana TIMASHEVA (AIN), Poland’s Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA and Zlata TEREKHOVA (AIN) also advanced to the Round of 32.
