by Ian Marshall, Editor
Star of the show for Russia was Vlada Voronina; in the second match of the engagement, she beat Naomi Pranjkovic (11-5, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-8), before in the vital fifth contest, recovering from a two games to nil deficit to overcome Annett Kaufmann (10-12, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8).
A tension packed victory, it was the same for the combination of Croatia’s Hana Arapovic and Hungary’s Dorottya Tolgyes, the no.2 seeds, the duo Vlada Voronina and Alina Zavarykina meet in the penultimate round. Similarly a 3-2 result was the outcome; the no.6 seeds, the Welsh duo comprising Ana Hursey and Lara Whitton proving more than worthy adversaries. Ana Hursey emerged the player to cause the problems. She accounted for both Dorottya Tolgyes (6-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-6) and Hana Arapovic (11-8, 11-4, 11-5).
Meanwhile in the opposite half of the draw, at the semi-final stage, the top seeds, the Romanian combination of Ioana Singeorzan and Elena Zaharia, face the host nation pairing of Charlotte Lutz and Prithika Pavade, the no.3 seeds. First place in the initial phase group, Ioana Singeorzan and Elena Zaharia received a direct entry to the semi-finals; for Charlotte Lutz and Prithika Pavade, at the quarter-final stage they faced Ukraine’s Vasylysa Kanunnikova and Iolanta Yevtedi, the pairing who in the group stage had caused a minor upset.
Occupying the no.8 seed spot, they had recorded a 3-2 win in opposition to the Greek combination of Malamentina Papadimtriou and Chrysi Fotiadou, the no.7 seeds. Against the French duo there was to be no such upset; a 3-0 margin of victory was the order of the day.
The cadet girls’ team event will be played to a conclusion on Saturday 13th April.
