By Shane Clark
The 2015 Europe Top 16 Cup concluded at the NN Table Tennis Club in Azerbaijan yesterday with a closely contested final to claim this year’s title.
Dimitrij Ovtcharov - Photo by: ettu.org
It saw last year’s winner Marcos Freitas seeded at 2 face the German number 1 and top seed Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Ovtcharov had an extremely tight encounter with Greek combination player Pantagiotis Gionis, only just clinching his final place 11-8 in the 7th. The world number 10 Freitas also came through a close final in the 7th set against the young French talent Simon Gauzy. Freitas found his way back from 8-5 down to claim a close first set 12 10. The higher ranked Ovtcharov who sits at world number 4, justified his ranking showing his class after taking the second 11-7. Freitas went on to win the next 2 and it was looking as though he was on his way to reclaiming his title, but it was not to be.
Ovtcharov came back to the table in the 5th set looking determined to not be beaten. He fought for every ball knowing he had a task ahead of him if he was to become the champion. He managed to oversee Freitas’s lead and take the next two sets to level the game. Then reaching sublime form in the seventh, to everyone’s surprise he took an unexpected 10-3 lead. The tense final came to an end on Ovtcharov’s second match point. His forehand was blocked off the edge of the table by Freitas meaning he had denied the champion his trophy, claiming the new European champions spot for the first time since Villeurbanne in 2012.
A well-earned title for the German as this tournament was very important preparation for the world championships which are to be held in china in May. The Chinese trials that were also recently concluded saw Fan Zhendong win a crucial place in the team. With Fan Zhendong beating Ma Long, and Ma long beating the Olympic Gold medallist and current World champion Zhang Jike, the ITTF Kuwait open will be a huge tournament for the Chinese players. Not to mention the fact that the world number 1 Xu Xin will also be present at the event. These tournaments are crucial preparation as the players are all looking to find their best form to be crowned the new world champion. Will Europe see a name on the long list of champions? Or will it fall back in to Chinas hands by Zhang Jike’s 3rd win in a row, or will it be another from the Chinese prodigy.
To catch up on all the latest highlighted matches from this prestigious event visit our Media Library.
Like and tweet our articles to the World. Lets spread the word of Table Tennis.
Written by Shane Clark
Twitter @Justshaneee
TableTennisDaily
The 2015 Europe Top 16 Cup concluded at the NN Table Tennis Club in Azerbaijan yesterday with a closely contested final to claim this year’s title.
Dimitrij Ovtcharov - Photo by: ettu.org
It saw last year’s winner Marcos Freitas seeded at 2 face the German number 1 and top seed Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Ovtcharov had an extremely tight encounter with Greek combination player Pantagiotis Gionis, only just clinching his final place 11-8 in the 7th. The world number 10 Freitas also came through a close final in the 7th set against the young French talent Simon Gauzy. Freitas found his way back from 8-5 down to claim a close first set 12 10. The higher ranked Ovtcharov who sits at world number 4, justified his ranking showing his class after taking the second 11-7. Freitas went on to win the next 2 and it was looking as though he was on his way to reclaiming his title, but it was not to be.
Ovtcharov came back to the table in the 5th set looking determined to not be beaten. He fought for every ball knowing he had a task ahead of him if he was to become the champion. He managed to oversee Freitas’s lead and take the next two sets to level the game. Then reaching sublime form in the seventh, to everyone’s surprise he took an unexpected 10-3 lead. The tense final came to an end on Ovtcharov’s second match point. His forehand was blocked off the edge of the table by Freitas meaning he had denied the champion his trophy, claiming the new European champions spot for the first time since Villeurbanne in 2012.
A well-earned title for the German as this tournament was very important preparation for the world championships which are to be held in china in May. The Chinese trials that were also recently concluded saw Fan Zhendong win a crucial place in the team. With Fan Zhendong beating Ma Long, and Ma long beating the Olympic Gold medallist and current World champion Zhang Jike, the ITTF Kuwait open will be a huge tournament for the Chinese players. Not to mention the fact that the world number 1 Xu Xin will also be present at the event. These tournaments are crucial preparation as the players are all looking to find their best form to be crowned the new world champion. Will Europe see a name on the long list of champions? Or will it fall back in to Chinas hands by Zhang Jike’s 3rd win in a row, or will it be another from the Chinese prodigy.
To catch up on all the latest highlighted matches from this prestigious event visit our Media Library.
Like and tweet our articles to the World. Lets spread the word of Table Tennis.
Written by Shane Clark
Twitter @Justshaneee
TableTennisDaily
