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Date: 07 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
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Date: 29 Jul 2009 |
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| 08 Sep 2009 | |
| 2009 European Beach Tennis Championships completed |
The second edition of the ITF / Tennis Europe Beach Tennis European Championships is under way in Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital city of Cagliari plays host to this prestigious tournament, with 5 Beach Tennis courts laid out on the magnificent Poetto Beach.
This year, we welcome back familiar faces from Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, San Marino and Slovenia, and we are pleased to have 7 new nations competing for the first time in this year’s Championships, namely Austria, Croatia, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. The event sets the record of highest number of entries with a total of 16 nations, consisting of 27 Men’s teams and 19 Women’s teams, competing for the title of European Champions.
Below you will find the completed drawsheets and notes from each day.
Day 1
September 4th
Usually the rainy season of the year, the event was blessed with blue sky and uninterrupted sunshine, but with a strong wind making the playing conditions a little tricky. In the Men’s draw, the Russian pairing of Levan Nanava / Andrey Vinogradov swept past their Irish opponents, Alan Kelly / Fiachra Lennon, 63 64. The Irish team are one of the new nations competing this year and although they do not have a Beach Tennis background, Kelly / Lennon showcased that they are able to use traditional ‘tennis’ techniques to play Beach Tennis. Their teammates, Timo Barry / Morgan Dunne, proved this by winning their 1st round encounter against the Dutch pairing of Gerard De Kok / Robert Van Tiel, 63 60. Another of this years newcomers, the Greek team of Athanisios Evangeliou / Elpidoforos Chrysovergis, fought through two tight sets against Belgians, Frederik Callebert / Davy Lenaerts, winning 75 63.
The new teams are here to show what they are made of. This certainly was the case when David Katona & Martin Schmidt of Austria faced the Swiss pairing of Yves Fornasier & Danilo Zucca. Arguably the match of the day, they tested each other through three entertaining sets, with the Austrians finally winning in the 3rd set tie break, 16 63 76(9).
It was a great day in the office for the Cypriots with two teams going through to the 2nd round at the expense of the Croatian teams. Philip Alkiviades / Andreas Thalassinos, beating Antonio Bujan / Davorin Golubic 60 60 and Petros Baghdati / Christophe Koutrouza beating Igor Kecerin / Marko Vizintin 60 62.
The only seed to fall at the first hurdle was the 8th seeded Dutch pair, Pascal De Jaer / Remi De Jager. They lost in a close encounter, 76(2) 75, to William Forcellini / Giorgio Gasperoni of San Marino.
Recently crowned ITF World Champions, Riccardo De Filippi & Marco Ludovici, from Italy received a Bye in the first round and will face the Russians Nanava / Vinogradov in their opening round on Saturday.
In the Women’s draw, all seeded players and many others had a rest day with Byes in the 1st round, including the defending European Champions & current World Champions, Simona Briganti & Rossella Stefanelli of Italy.
Like the men, the women from Cyprus triumphed on their opening day. Eirina Letseva / Chrystalla Trittis faced tough competition from Nicoletta Biordi / Lucia Gualandra of San Marino, however they came through with a three set win, beating them 62 46 75. On the other hand, their compatriots Femke Ellens & Vaso Karabassava Hambides, had an easier opening round, winning 60 61 against the Dutch pairing of Sasja Van Der Meer / Eline Veder.
The only other match that was played today was Ingrid Van Balen / Sandra Van Der Borght from Holland against Anne Roosen / Evelien Van Der Spiegel from Belgium, with the Belgians advancing to the 2nd round with a 64 62 win.
Saturday will see the Quarterfinals round being played with the Italians looking to cement their status as the world leading Beach Tennis players. But be warned, there is stiff competition out there coming from other nations looking to spoil the Italian party….
Day 2
September 5th
Day 2 of the 2009 European Championships saw ferocious wind continue to make a huge impression on the courts on the Poetto Beach. Some players were forced to adjust their playing styles with high lobs and deft touches to try and use the wind to their advantage. With the temperature still reaching above 30 Celsius, the tournament was heating up with the Quarterfinals stages of the Championships all completed on the second day.
The Women enjoyed a peaceful day on Friday with players receiving Byes in the 1st round; however this certainly was not the case on day 2, with all of the 2nd Round and Quarterfinals matches being played.
Defending European Champions and recently crowned World Champions, Simona Briganti & Rossella Stefanelli of Italy, made a start to their campaign on Court 2, defeating Cypriots, Eirina Letseva / Chrystalla Trittis, 61 62. They then proceeded to show that they mean business by comfortably winning against Anne Roosen / Evelien Van Der Spiegel from Belgium by the same score line, making their way to the Semifinals stage. In the latter quarter of the Draw, fourth seeded Polish pairing of Katarzyna Kaleta & Aleksandra Rosolska faced an unexpected battle from an unknown entity; newcomers to the ITF Beach Tennis Tour, Ekaterina Dranets & Gulnara Fattakhetdinova of Russia. The Polish eventually coming through a tight three setter to win 63 16 64. They will now meet the Swiss pairing of Laura Galli / Patrizia Noris in the last four, who defeated Gabriela Kopecka / Lada Madlikova of Czech Republic, 64 64, in the Quarters.
In the lower half of the Draw, Femke Ellens & Vaso Karabassava Hambides from Cyprus continued to impress, with a significant win over the fifth seeded German pairing of Andrea Scharpf / Tanja Scharpf, 57 75 64. However, their winning streak came to a halt when they faced the Italian Wild Card entrants Silvia Storari / Elena Vianello from Italy in the Quarterfinals, losing 63 46 64. The line up of the Semi Finals was completed with Briganti/Stefanelli’s strongest rivals and their compatriots, Laura Olivieri & Mara Santangelo, who won against the Russians Maria Golovisnina / Elena Nikolskaya in the second round and Silvia Arroyo / Isabel Dominguez (ESP) in the Quarterfinals.
In the Semi Finals on Sunday, Storari / Vinanello will face Olivieri / Santangelo while Kaleta / Rosolska, the only non-Italians, will look to overcome tournament favourites, Briganti / Stefanelli.
In the Men’s Draw, World Champions Riccardo De Filippi & Marco Ludovici (ITA) were first to go through to the Semi Finals with a comfortable win against the German pairing of Alexander Bailer / Oliver Munz. They will face their compatriots Alessandro Calbucci / Paolo Tazzari who brushed past Philip Alkiviades / Andreas Thalassinos, 61 60.
In the other half of the Draw, the Spanish team of Roger Mir-Baucells / Jaume Montfort-Hernand continued to grow in confidence round by round, with a Quarterfinals win over the Czechs, Lukas Mrnavy / Pavel Radek, 63 67(5) 75. The only non-Italian team to advance to the Semifinals, they will face their toughest challenges yet, when they play against Fabio Felisatti / Andrea Fiocchi of Italy on Sunday.
Day 3: Finals Day
September 6th
With the milder wind and perfect sunshine, the last day of the 2009 European Championships promised to be the best day yet.
The Women’s semi finals were first to be played. The only non-Italian pair to be left in the Draw, Katarzyna Kaleta & Aleksandra Rosolska from Poland, looked to upset the World Champions and tournament favourites, Simona Briganti & Rossella Stefanelli of Italy. However, the Italians were far too superior on their home turf, comfortably winning 63 62. In an all-Italian Semi Final in the other half of the draw, Laura Olivieri & Mara Santangelo lived up to their status as No. 2 seeds by defeating the Wild Card entrants, Silvia Storari / Elena Vianello, 64 62.
The final consisted of three seasoned Beach Tennis players in Briganti, Stefanelli and Olivieri plus one Professional Tennis player, Santangelo, who is taking time out from the WTA Tour and ITF Pro Circuits due to injury. This mixture proved to be extremely entertaining and the final was played in front of a large crowd of sun worshipers on the magnificent Poetto Beach, with Olivieri / Santangelo successfully producing their best performance to date, upsetting the defending Champions Briganti / Stefanello, 64 63. This straight sets triumph saw Laura Olivieri & Mara Santangelo crowned the new European Champions!
In the Men’s competition, up-and-coming players from Spain, Roger Mir-Baucells / Jaume Montfort-Hernand, faced their toughest challenges yet against the second seeded Italian pairing of Fabio Felisatti / Andrea Fiocchi. Although the Spanish pair were impressive in the earlier rounds, the Italians proved to be too strong for them, losing 61 61 in the semi finals. In the other half of the Draw, the crowd witnessed the upset of the tournament, when World Champions Riccardo De Filippi & Marco Ludovici (ITA) got knocked out of the Semis by their compatriots & Wild Card entrants, Alessandro Calbucci / Paolo Tazzari, 64 76(4).
With over 300 beach goers sat in the stadium seats and hovering around the Centre Court, the Final did not disappoint. Felisatti / Fiocchi took the 1st set and Calbucci / Tazzari fought back winning the 2nd set, taking the Final to a 3rd set decider. Lengthy rallies, finished off by strong smashes or delicate touches, wowed the enthusiastic spectators throughout, with Felisatti / Fiocchi finally coming through victorious with the final score of 64 46 63. Like the women, we have new European Champions - Fabio Felisatti / Andrea Fiocchi. Congratulations!
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