3-Cushion
The double winner Dick Jaspers said farewell to the tournament with a victory over Javier Palazón. He ended up at the fifth place, a consolation prize compared to the previous two editions, but with three matches in which he showed his qualities. ,,I'm actually beaten by a fantastic run of Kasidokostas'', he looked back. The Greek, who plays for third place this afternoon, defeated Jaspers on the first day with a final run of 21.
The Dutchman analyzed his performance especially with his specific thoughts about the timeclock. ,,What ever they do here in Agipi, if they play with a timeclock of twenty seconds next year, I will always come back.'' But for Jaspers, not the fastest players in the circuit, it's still a big handicap, even with the clock now on forty seconds.
,,I think it's not good for three-cushion in general'', Jaspers maintains his feelings. ,,Of course for some players there is no problem and for some it's very difficult. Frédéric Caudron knows very well how to get on with it. It is his nature to play fast, for mee it's great to see. But I miss certain positions, for sure, because I constantly have to look at the clock and have to strike faster than I want. There are less problems if I'm in my rhythm, but today against Palazón, early in the match I played far below my level.''
Jaspers didn't use it as an excuse. ,,It's my own fault that the clock is a handicap for me. I must get on with it on a better way, but more or less I think, what is the profit for us to play with the clock. I mean, if there is a live broadcast, I agree we must. But for other matches, for example in the league, I could even play faster without than with the clock.''
Jaspers made a great catch up against Palazón this afternoon. The Spaniard led 23-10 after thirteen innings. His opponent began to close the gap from the fourteenth inning, first with small runs of four and three, then with six and with a final run of nine: 50-35 in 22 innings.