Stating her intentions, a tournament to remember for Natalia Partyka

by Simon Daish

On only her second-ever appearance at the event Natalia Partyka was one of the stars of the show in Montreux, outperforming expectations as no.13 seed to reach the semi-finals of the Women’s Singles draw.

“It seems to me that it was my best performance in seniors. I have had several successful events on my account, but Top 16 is a very prestigious and elite tournament and taking a place in the top four is a very good result.” Natalia Partyka

Starting her campaign with great resolve Partyka saw off one of the continent’s finest defensive minded players in the Netherland’s Li Jie and was just as impressive in the quarter-finals, beating Hungary’s Georgina Pota across five games to guarantee her spot in the programme for the final day of play.

Partyka’s incredible journey ended in back-to-back defeats, losing out to 2018 champion Bernadette Szocs in the last four before she was narrowly edged out by top seed Sofia Polcanova in the bronze medal match.

However, despite having some regret about her final two encounters the Polish competitor was pleased with her overall performance in Montreux:

“I did not have enough to be in the final… I won one, but Szocs was better in the second one. I could have led 3:2, but I lost 2:3. However, it was a very good match… Generally, I’m happy with all the matches I have played in Switzerland. I regret a little, of course, that I was fourth and I did not manage to get a place on the podium, but I rate it very highly.” Natalia Partyka

The proceedings in Montreux may have concluded but for Partyka busy times lie ahead over the next week or so: heading to the German capital to assist Czech club SKST STAVOIMPEX Hodonin in their Champions League semi-final fixture against TTC Berlin Eastside, Partyka then jets off on another flight bound for Lisbon to take part in the upcoming Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Plus Portugal Open.