Lumezzane. For the Lumezzane Tennis Club there is two pieces of news. The first, negative, says that the Brescia team missed their first chance to remain in the Serie A2 women’s tennis championship, surrendering 3-2 to the Turin club Circolo della Stampa Sporting in the first round of the play-outs. But the second is positive, because the team led by Alberto Paris and Elisa Belleri will have another opportunity to secure salvation, in a duel – with a home and away format – to be played in the next two Sundays against the rivals of the Tennis Training of Foligno.
It will be the last chance to save a season full of draws, which could have ended positively in the duel of the first round of the play-outs against the Turin team, who were instead promoted 3-2 in Lumezzane in a challenge with two faces. The first was in favor of host, easily went up to 2-0 thanks to the victories of Chiara Catini against Federica Joe Gardella (6-1 6-0 the score) and of Anastasia Piangerelli against Stefania Chieppadefeat 6-3 6-1. But then it was the domain of rivals: first they closed the gap with Anna Maria Procacci’s success against Sued El Badaoui and then they achieved a 2-2 draw thanks to the Chieppa/Procacci duo, who passed 7-6 6-3 in doubles against El Badaoui/Catini.
At that point, a double overtime was necessary to decide the winner: the opponents confirmed the Chieppa/Procacci pairing, while the Brescia team tried to change the cards on the table by proposing Anastasia Piangerelli alongside Sued El Badaoui. But the Piedmontese were right again, scoring 6-2 6-1.
“We close with a bit of regret, especially for the first of the two doubles – said captain Alberto Paris -, because especially in the first set the girls had numerous chances. They led by a break (3-1, ed.), then led 5-2 in the tie-break, but in the hot moments their opponents proved superior. By winning the first set we would have been able to put some pressure on them, but once that slipped away everything became more complicated. The excellent performances in singles by Catini and Piangerelli remain: we hope they are a good omen for the next two Sundays”.
As mentioned, the Valgobbia team will have a further chance to secure salvation in the second and final round of the play-outs, in a double challenge against the Tennis Training of Foligno, already faced in the group stage (finished 2-2 in Umbria). The first leg will be played in the province of Perugia on Sunday 1st December, followed by the return match in Lumezzane seven days later.
Serie A2 play-out first round results
Tennis Club Lumezzane – Circolo della Stampa Sporting (Turin) 2-3.
Chiara Catini (L) b. Federica Joe Gardella (L) 6-1 6-0, Anastasia Piangerelli (L) b. Stefania Chieppa (S) 6-3 6-1, Anna Maria Procacci (S) b. Sued El Badaoui (L) 6-0 6-0, Chieppa/Procacci (S) b. El Badaoui/Catini (L) 7-6 6-3, Chieppa/Procacci (S) b. El Badaoui/Piangerelli (L) 6-2 6-1.
