My very own match summary

Hi! Recently I was assigned to make a match report about one of my latest matches. I decided to write about a team match where I played with 2 Swedes in one team and managed to qualify for the main draw at a junior tournament by pulling of an upset against the higher ranked French team. I hope you enjoy!

Mixed team sees out local favourites in style

In the team event of the ITTF French Junior & Cadet Open, spectators were treated with one great thriller of a contest during the Junior Team Event on Friday, April 13^th. In the group fase, the mixed team of Belgian and Swedish origin defeated the local favourites and 3^rd seed France A with 3-2 after a 3 hour long battle for a spot in the quarter-finals.

First off was the Swede Jonathan Friis who faced off Bilal Sabhi in what was only a foreshadowing of the rest of the night. After being down 1-2, Friis fought back to secure the opening rubber for his team. A roar of delight was heard on the bench of the mixed nations. The underdogs smelled blood after this match that ended with 11-8 in the decider to the likes of Friis.

Next up was Belgian youngster Olav Kosolosky, who defeated the reigning European Cadet Champion Myshaal Hamache, who followed the example of his Swedish compatriot with a 3-2 victory over the rising Frenchman. Some fierce exchanges fell to the hands of Hamache, but eventually it was Kosolosky who concluded the match victorious with the advantage of having won plenty of free points on his own serve.

But the Frenchmen weren’t going out without putting up a fight. Ranked 7^th junior in Europe, Dorian Cavaille scored for the home team after a convincing 3-1 win against the Swedish Jonathan Nettarp. The Swede put up a brave fight against an opponent who is ranked 40 places above him on the ETTU Junior ranking, but eventually he fell short to the higher consistency of play by the Frenchman.

Now was the contest between the two number  1s of both teams. Olav Kosolosky faced Bilal Sabhi. Another match that was to be ended in the deciding set, but this time it was Kosolosky who fell short. Being up 2-0 and 5-2, he couldn’t secure the win for his team, and therefore the decisive match had to be played to see who would make the quarter-finals.

It all came down to the final match. Swedish/Belgian hopes appeared to be shattered when Jonathan Friis faced Mysaal Hamache: the Frenchman being the better ranked and, on top of that, the most confident in this situation. Last summer, Hamache lead his country to victory at the European Team Youth Championships, having beaten Spaniard Sergi Pons convincingly in the decisive rubber of the penultimate round. It appeared that the Frenchmen would come out of the groups as expected, being up 2-0 in the last match. But now, Friis found his rhythm of the opening match. He narrowed the backlog from 2 sets to 1. The French team were already with their minds in the quarters, but were now being brought back to reality. Another set fell to the hands of the Swede. For the fourth time out of five of the matches that evening, it all came down to the decisive set. Spectators were treated more than nicely with the drama that was being held on table 3. Having saved two match points in the fourth set, hero of the mixed team Jonathan Friis concluded the match in style, with a forehand winner at 13-12 in the decider. The relief was enormous on the Swedish/Belgian bench, as was disappointment on the French’s.

The quarter-final stage commences on April 14, where Sweden/Belgium is up for another mission impossible against Japan.  Play concludes the same day.