by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

No great travails for the top six names, although Tom Jarvis did need the full five games to beat the Czech Republic’s David Prusa (11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4); however, for the next two in the order of merit there were problems.

England’s Matthew Leete, the no.7 seed, lost to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Lushnikov (11-8, 16-18, 11-5, 10-12, 11-4); Slovakia’s Tibor Spanik, the no.8 seed, experienced defeat at the hands of the Czech Republic’s Frantisek Onderka (5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 13-11).

Volodymyr Lushnikov and Frantisek Onderka duly remained unbeaten to secure first places; for Matthew Leete and Tibor Spanik it was their only defeat, thus second place in the group and progress to the main was the outcome.

Players finishing in first and second places in each of the 16 groups advance to the main draw.

Two surprise first places and there were three more.

Norway’s Adrian Wetzel beat Argentina’s Matias de Vicenzo, the no.10 seed (12-10, 8-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-4); Croatia’s Luka Martinek accounted for Hungary’s Patrik Juhasz, the no.13 seed (11-3, 11-5, 11-8).

Meanwhile, Slovakia’s Stefan Petko secured first place in his group courtesy of success in opposition to Slovenia’s Peter Hribar, the no.14 seed (6-11, 11-4, 13-15, 11-9, 11-7); both finished with two wins apiece but because Stefan Petko beat Peter Hribar, he secured top spot.

Surprises in the first stage of the Boys’ Singles event; there was an even bigger upset in the Boys’ Doubles competition; in the second round Tobias Hippler and Cedric Meissner experienced defeat at the hands of the Czech Republic’s Vlastimil Buben and Jan Gorecki (11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10).

Defeat for the top seeds but not for the second seeds; Tom Jarvis and Matthew Leete beat the Czech Republic’s David Prusa and Jan Valenta to reserve their quarter-final places (11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10).

Play in Senec concludes on Sunday 4th June.

Photos: Tomas Sereda