by Ian Marshall, Editor
Meanwhile to the delight of the crowd the host nation’s Quadri Aruna remained on course to retain his men’s singles title; however, the star of the show was Italy’s Deborah Vivarelli.
Men’s Singles
…………Quadri Aruna, the top seed, beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro, the no.5 seed (11-6, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6) to reserve his place in the semi-finals.
…………India’s Soumyajit Ghosh, required to qualify, emerged the most surprise name to reach the penultimate round; at the quarter-final stage he beat Frenchman, Alexandre Robinot, the no.11 seed (11-9, 11-9, 13-11, 11-9) and third round winner in opposition to Slovenia’s Bojan Tokic, the no.3 seed (11-8, 11-4, 11-4, 7-11, 6-11, 12-10).
…………Austria’s Robert Gardos, the no.4 seed, reserved his place in the last four but he was tested. In the round of the last eight he was extended the full distance by Romania’s Rares Sipos, the no.20 seed (11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9).
…………Cédric Nuytinck justified his no.2 seeded position but only just; at the quarter-final stage the Belgian was stretched to the limit by Egypt’s Ahmed Ali Saleh, the no.12 seed (6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7).
…………At the semi-final stage Quadri Aruna meets Soumyajit Ghosh, Robert Gardos opposes Cédric Nuytinck.
Women’s Singles
…………Deborah Vivarelli caused the biggest upset of the day; the no.7 seed, at the quarter-final stage she ousted Slovakia’s Barbora Balazova, the top seed (11-6, 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10).
…………Required to qualify, India’s Sreeja Akula emerged a surprise semi-finalist; she accounted for Croatia’s Ida Jazbec, also a qualifier to book her last four place (11-5, 11-2, 11-8, 11-5), after in the second round having ousted Egypt’s Dina Meshref, the no.3 seed (11-9, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9).
…………Russia’s Polina Mikhailova, the no.2 seed, was in no mood for charity; she accounted for Germany’s Wan Yan in straight games (11-4, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7) to secure a penultimate round place.
…………Yana Noskova added to Russian success but she was tested; in her quarter-final contest, she needed the full seven games to end the hopes of Indian qualifier, Pooja Sahasrabudhe (6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-4).
…………At the semi-final stage Debora Vivarelli meets Yana Noskova, Sreeja Akula opposes Polina Mikhailova.
Men’s Doubles
…………Oljajide Omotayo and Segun Toriola, the no.5 seeds, delighted the home supporters; they beat Belgium’s Robin Devos and Laurens Devos, the no.2 seeds (11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6), prior to overcoming Saudi Arabia’s Ali Alkhadrawi and Andulaziz Bu Shulaybi, the no.3 seeds (8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 15-11, 13-11) to reach the final.
…………Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck and Frenchman Quentin Robinot, the top seeds, overcame the combination of Luxembourg’s Eric Glod and Hungary’s Tamas Lakatos, the no.7 seeds (11-5, 11-7, 13-11) to book their place in the title decider.
Women’s Doubles
…………Croatia’s Ida Jazbec and Ivana Malobabic ended the hopes of the host nation; not seeded they recorded a semi-final success against Cecilia Akpan and Offiong Edem, the no.8 seeds (11-5, 11-8, 11-6). One round earlier, Cecilia Akpan and Offiong Edem had ousted Egypt’s Farah Abdel-Aziz and Yousra Helmy, the top seeds (16-14, 11-4, 11-9).
…………Polina Mikhailova and Yana Noskova, the no.2 seeds, secured their place in the final by beating the combination of Romania’s Andreea Dragoman and Belgium’s Lisa Lung, the no.7 seeds (11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 10-12, 11-7).
Mixed Doubles
………..Germany’s Kilian Ort and Wan Yuan beat Luxembourg’s Eric Glod and Sarah de Nutte (9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7) to secure the title.
Under 21 Men’s Singles
…………Romania’s Cristian Pletea accounted for Iran’s Amir Hodaei Hossein (11-8, 11-9, 11-6) at the final hurdle.
Under 21 Women’s Singles
…………Andreea Dragoman added to Romanian success; she struck gold at the expense of Belgium’s Lisa Lung (11-3, 13-11, 11-5).
