Dion Nelin to a climax with perfect 10

ANDERNOS - Dion Nelin's first punch felt like a knock-out for his two opponents in the Kozoom Challenge Cup. The Dane ended the first day of play with a perfect ten and took a 6-1-1 lead over Jérôme Barbeillon and Jose Maria Mas. The top favorite in the group has set the tone, the opposition is hopefully preparing for a catch-up race.

The last performance of the day made a huge impression to both the audience and the players. Dion Nelin, with a comfortable 5-1-1 margin, scored the b breakshot for the eighth set in a way that Torbjörn Blomdahl, the analyst, qualified as very unusual. ''This is surely not the perfect break shot, I wouldn't play it like that'', it sounded from the commentary position. The sequel was brilliant. The Danish whirlwind saw no danger anymore, fired up the speed and ran almost playfully towards the last three points. And with the three balls in one of the corners, close together, the Dane finished as if it was a ten-of-red game with three bankshots. The final score on the board: 10-0-0, without Nelin having allowed his opponents even one attempt in the last match.

So, was it a one-man-show on the first day, as the score suggests? Certainly not. Frenchman Jérôme Barbeillon even started the match with a set win and scored a run of nine in the sensational sixth set. The Spanish substitute Jose Maria Mas finished with an eight in the third set and brought the score to 1-1-1, very promising for the rest of the match.

But after that evenly matched start, Dion Nelin threw his devilish qualities on the table in a sudden attack. The speed of scoring, the Dane's trademark, brought him to a 3-1-1 lead as the sixth set came to a climax. Nelin himself started with 7, Barbeillon replied with 9 and a missed set ball. And with Mas at 7, Nelin managed to make the last carom for a 4-1-1 lead. In the last two sets, the Dane outplayed his rivals, first with a 10-4-3 score and finally, carefree, in a masterful sprint, the Kozoom spectators were served the apotheosis of the match day.

The ranking after the first day:
1 Dion Nelin 6-69-39-1,769-10
2 Jérôme Barbeillon 1-42-36-1,166-9
3 Jose Maria Mas 1-44-36-1,222-8

The setscores:
Set 1:
Barbeillon 10, Nelin 5, Mas 4
Set 2:
Nelin 10, Mas 8, Barbeillon 3
Set 3:
Mas 10, Nelin 4, Barbeillon 3
Set 4:
Nelin 10, Barbeillon 7, Mas 3
Set 5:
Nelin 10, Mas 9, Barbeillon 6
Set 6:
Nelin 10, Barbeillon 9, Mas 7
Set 7:
Nelin 10, Barbeillon 4, Mas 3
Set 8:
Nelin 10, Barbeillon 0, Mas 0.

Dion Nelin, perfect run of 10 in the end

Jérôme Barbeillon won the first set of the session

Jose Maria Mas, hunting for the leader in the coming two days