3-Cushion
At the end of a long evening Dick Jaspers showed himself again at his best. The Dutchman had lost a 2-0 lead against Torbjörn Blomdahl, his teammate, friend and now his opponent, who suddenly smelled an opportunity to come back in the match. But in a fast final set Jaspers won 15-2 in two innings and seeded for the semifinals. Jaspers will play against Caudron tomorrow, Dani Sánchez meets the Korean Jae Ho Cho.
Torbjörn Blomdahl confessed after his match against Jaspers: ,,I'm getting older and usually I have a poor start now.'' The comeback in the match however was impressive: Jaspers won the first set 15-8, the second 15-9, Blomdahl replied with 15-6 and finished in the fourth set at 12-12 with a run of three.
Jaspers: ,,I think it was not a matter of concentration, I just made some small mistakes and Torbjörn is always a great player and great fighter. I will never underestimate him as an opponent. He punished it his way, but luckily I was able to finish strong.''
Dick Jaspers finished the match with 2.250 average, Blomdahl with 1.814, on an evening which was marked by high scores. Dani Sánchez played even the highest average against Roland Forthomme (2.500), the Belgian finished with 1.687 and Jae Ho Cho with 1.933 against Jef Philipoom.
Frédéric Caudron closed the door for Nikos Polychronopoulos, who could not continue his success in the euphoria of his victory against Filipos Kasidokostas in the afternoon. The match between the two fastest players in the circuit had not the tension people had expected. The Belgian prevailed and could demonstrate his mastery, even at times when he missed in the final innings twice on his way to the finish. His opponent couldn't answer, because he also missed on a millimeter and then saw slip away the match through his fingers: 15-11, 15-3, 15-14.
Jae Ho Cho, supported by the Koreans who are already out of the tournament, signed the verdict of Jef Philipoom. The Belgian could only return in the match in one set, the second, when he had lost the first 15-10. The 15-13 in the second was not the start of his comeback. Jae Ho Cho finished cool and unstoppable.
Dani Sánchez was not a moment in trouble when he met Roland Forthomme. The Spaniard started 15-3 in 3 innings, found his rhythm in the very first innings and forced his opponent to pursue. Forthomme didn't play bad at all (1.687), but couldn't make high runs (4 was the highest) and so he lost 15-11 and 15-12.