Carom
BRANDENBURG - The overwhelming applause at the end was for Marco Zanetti, who won the semi final match (40-37 in 12/11) and for Frédéric Caudron, who equalized the world record highest run (28). The spectacle between two top players came to a scintillating apotheosis, the crowd in the stands witnessed a great promotion for three cushion in the Stahlpalast in Brandenburg.
The winner of the match, Marco Zanetti, shone with an incredible performance and a great come-back after Caudron’s record run. The man who lost the match, Frédéric Caudron, showed himself a fantastic sportsman during an incident with the timeframe at a decisive phase in the match.
The 48-year-old Christian Rudolph plays the final this afternoon (Sunday, 14.30) against the 51-year-old Italian. The German veteran, who was world champion three cushion in 1996 in Hattingen, won the match in the shadow of the other semi-final against the young Dutchman Glenn Hofman (40-23 in 41 innings).
,,I haven’t only played my own match, but also watched the spectacle at the other table’’, Rudolph excused for his lesser performance. ,,That’s why I lost my concentration.’’
On an early Sunday morning, a few hundred spectators witnessed a match with a stunning course. Marco Zanetti, who is in a flow after his victories in the tournaments of Lausanne and Agipi, had a promising start and was leading 15-3 after five innings.
Then, Frédéric Caudron came to the table in the fifth inning for an explosion that was only recorded three times before in history of three-cushion.
Junichi Komori from Japan, Raymond Ceulemans from Belgium had the world record highest run (28) for many years in their hands. Roland Forthomme equaled the run late last year in Zundert in a match against Eddy Merckx.
That magical run is now also on the name of Frédéric Caudron: the Belgian built up his masterly performance in the match Zanetti, playing flawlessly on position, but also solved some situations under the tremendous stress.
He later recalled: ,,I should also have made the 29th point, because the position was pretty easy. But I felt the same as what Roland Forthomme had in his run of 28. My playing arm contorted and my body was shaking because of the tension. It is a very special and unexplainable feeling when you're so close to the world record.''
Caudron analyzed later: ,,If I had made the 29th point, maybe the tension had been gone, I could have made some more points and probably won the fight. But that did not happen. Marco has made a great come-back, in a way that only he can do it at the moment. He seems to be unbeatable.''
The match was disrupted after the super run of Caudron by a remarkable incident with the clock. The timeframe refused, when Marco Zanetti started the run that brought him back in the match. The referee told it to the Italian, who responded with a joke: ,,So then I can think five minutes before I make the carom?''
The clock (for 40 seconds time) functioned again, after Zanetti had made his first point. When he made his eighth point, the Italian passed the 40 seconds. The referee announced a miss, but Zanetti reacted furiously: ,,How can I know that the clock is working again, no one has told me'', he said.
There was a short discussion, the referee wanted to tell Zanetti to stop, but Caudron made an incredible sporting gesture: the Belgian, after a brief conversation with Zanetti, gave the sine that his opponent could continue. He was rewarded with a big applause from the audience.
Marco Zanetti made five more points, brought the score to 36-34 for Caudron and two innings later to 37-35, but then decided the game with a run of five (40-37 in 12/11).
It was Zanetti's third consecutive victory against Frédéric Caudron after the finals of the Lausanne Billard Masters and the Agipi Masters.