In Poitiers, deprived of its No. 1, the Frenchwoman Jia-Nan Yuan (No. 2), the Messines nevertheless played with the nerves of their coach and their supporters in front of their screen. They were sometimes, often, imperial, atomizing their counterparts in certain sets. But they have also too frequently lost their footing. Not completely but certainly too much for their captain’s liking. “That’s the beauty of our sport, it turns quickly from one side to the other,” smiles Loïc Belguise.
Adina Diaconu (n°4) was almost the perfect example. After a first set dropped (11-6) to the Swede Filippa Bergand (n°50), she pocketed the next two in no time (5-11, 4-11), but had to struggle in the fourth for the take away on his third match point (10-12). Mariia Tailakova then took matters into her own hands (8-11, 2-11, 5-11) not to let the Spaniard Sara Ramirez (n°53) breathe. At 0-6 then 3-8 for Christina Kallberg (n°36), the match, and the meeting as a whole, seemed to fold.
But the Serbian Andrea Todorovic (n°38) gradually turned the situation around. Even though the Swede from Metz had four set points (6-10), the set fell into her opponent’s hands (12-10). Who came back, twice, in front after Kallberg had equalized 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-3. The game got complicated for the Metz TT. Especially since Mariia Tailakova did not start well against Filippa Bergand (14-12). Although at times she reigned, at others she gave in a little too easily (3-11, 11-9, 6-11). The Russian nevertheless held her own and closed the affair (7-11).
“A beautiful mathematical operation”
“Now, the results of the two meetings (Grand-Quevilly and Poitiers) are six points,” relishes Loïc Belguise. “So I’m happy with the results since we are in the lead with eighteen points while being undefeated. It’s satisfactory, even if there are still two or three imperfections. Against Poitiers, without its leader, it is certain that we start as favorites and in these cases, we always play at too low an intensity. We put ourselves in danger alone. It’s sluggish. There wasn’t too much concern, I think we were on top, but we made the match more complicated. It might play tricks on us. But it’s a great mathematical operation and the next step is to ensure our European qualification and first place in Budapest on Thursday. »
POITIERS – METZ TT : 1-3
Adina Diaconu (TT/Rou/n°4) bat Filippa Bergand (TTACC/Sue/n°50) 6-11, 11-5, 11-4, 12-10 ; Mariia Taïlakova (MTT/Rus/n°18) beat Sara Ramirez (TTACC/Esp/n°53) 11-8, 11-2, 11-5 ; Andrea Todorovic (TTACC/Ser/n°38) bat Christina Kallberg (MTT/Sue/n°36) 12-10, 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-3 ; Tailakova beat Bergand 12-14, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7.
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