3-Cushion
SCHILTIGHEIM - Dani Sánchez read a headline in a Spanish newspaper in the preparation for his match against Jérémy Bury, stating that Novak Djokovic is a 'bestia negro' for Rafael Nadal, as it is called in English: a black beast. The prediction came true in the final of the Australian Open.
Dani Sánchez has seen the Agipi arena for long time as a kind of black beast as well, because he rarely came to great performances, often lost matches when he played high averages and therefore never could really shine in the Masters Agipi.
Today, he started the day with a convincing victory against Jeremy Bury and he set himself almost certainly for the final weekend. The key match in the group evolved from the start in favor of Sánchez, who quickly made a run of eight, built up a gap to 30-14 and demolished his opponent later on with a run of twelve so far, that he was he couldn't find his fighting spirit. Sánchez closed the mat at 50-31 in 20 innings.
The cash desk rang for Dani Sánchez, who received the bonus for the win, for the match in twenty innings and the run of twelve. And it will cost a little miracle to keep him out of the final weekend, even if he doesn't win his last match against HaengJik Kim in the evening. ,,If I win, I jump on the table,'' Sánchez promised already.
The result of the other match changed the situation in the group completely. Roland Forthomme had to close a big backlog after a bad start against HaengJik Kim, came back at the end and only needed four points in the equalizer to make a draw. But he missed the last: a round the table shot over six cushions.
The Belgian has been finished and gathered four points. Dani Sánchez (against Kim) and Eddy Merckx (against Bury) have four points as well and still one match to go. There is no doubt about their positions if they win, but if they lose, the average will decide. Sánchez and Merckx have a much better average than Forthomme and Bury, the Frenchman who can close his performance at four points. He needs a little miracle to set for the finals.
The ranking for now is:
1 Merckx 3 - 4 - 1.932
2 Sánchez 3 - 4 - 1.930
3 Bury 3 - 2 - 1.582
4 Forthomme 4 - 2 - 1.542
5 Kim 4 -2 to 1.307.