Top three in great form to final day

VIENNA – The last run-up to the final day of the World Cup in Vienna was great and at the end of the day even better than in years before. Tomorrow the top three of the world will enter the final day in a great form and together with Lütfi Cenet, the Turk, who's showing himself the best of all his compatriots in this World Cup, we can make up for a dream scenario in the Stadthalle.

In the Austrian capital, the town wher famous composers as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven grew to great heights, the billiard world is waiting for the climax of this World Cup. Dick Jaspers, Frédéric Caudron and Torbjörn Blomdahl, the big stars of the day, were playing matches which fluctuated in the first sets around three average in the quarterfinal round. So much quality has rarely been seen last years at the billiard tables.

The top three plays for the main prize, but one player certainly can be an unexpected killer in that battle. The Turkish man coming Lütfi Cenet is the fourth player who was seeded for the semifinals after a tough fight with Nikos Polychronopoulos (3-2). He celebrated his victory with a wild yell of happiness.

He could not compete with the averages of the other players, which were all of an absolutely world-class. Jaspers did in his game against Robinson Morales only eight innings over his first thirty caroms (3.750 average), Caudron needed ten innings for two sets (3.000 average) and Torbjörn Blomdahl had 2.727 after two sets. The brain behind the Gabriëls billiard tables in the Stadthalle said: ,,We use a special equipment to clean and prepare the cushions, which explains the high level.''

The Belgian Caudron, second in the world behind Jaspers, was as usual the first to the finish. He defeated Sanchez 3-0 and averaged 2.500. Torbjörn Blomdahl, who apparently has got wings after his World Cup win in Suwon, beat his opponent Dong Koong Kang in straight sets too: 45 points in 19 innings (2.368).

Dick Jaspers faced the unpredictable whims of his opponent, the Colombian Robinson Morales, after he had took the first sets 15-3 and 15-6. Morales won the third set 15-5 in four innings, but then the Dutch world champion finished the job with 15-6 in six, averaging 2.777 overall, the highest of the evening session.