3-Cushion
Can the match with the sovereign leader Marco Zanetti still turn around after the first day of the Kozoom Challenge Cup? It is of course not inconceivable that the man on top, with a 5-3 lead over Spaniard Montes and a 5-0 lead over Austrian Kahofer, can be forced to give up that margin in the coming days. But the first blow was a hard one: Marco Zanetti ruled on all fronts of the game, Antonio Montes was a valiantly fighting runner-up.
Torbjörn Blomdahl, the excellent analyst, characterised the Italian frontrunner in the second last set as one of the best all-round players in the world: ''Marco has the perfect speed control, he is very strong in position play, switches quickly from offensive to defensive play, can play full speed shots and is able to score optimally under tension when the match comes to an exciting finish.'' In his assessment for the rest of the match, TB added: ''That's obviously very good news for Marco in this match, but bad news for Montes and Kahofer.''
The Italian's positional play also came up later in the questions/answers after the match. Marco, with a whimsical wink to the interviewer, who spoke with a lot of respect about making up the high runs: ''Yes, that is my speciality of the house.''
What kind of opposition can Zanetti still expect from his two opponents? Antonio Montes, the three sets winner and one start with a run of 9, commented: ''I didn't play very well, but I'm happy with my three sets. For the next few days, I surely want to make fewer mistakes, I must take care and plsy the best possible.'' Arnim Kahofer: ''My start was not good at all and I could not find my rhythm later in the game. Therefore, I could not make high runs and because of that, you cannot win a set. I hope to improve and can make a better match.''
The match started with a set win by Marco Zanetti, who finished with a run of 7. Antonio Montes levelled the score with a win in the second set after starting with 9. Zanetti left his two opponents far behind in the third set (10-3-1) and was also the better player in the fourth set (10-4-1). The fifth set went to Montes again (10-6-2), in the sixth and seventh Zanetti took more advantage and finally, Montes brought the tension back in the last set with a 10-6-4 win thanks to a final run of 7. That brought the score to 5-3-0 after this first day.
The ranking after one day:
1 Marco Zanetti 5-62-34-1,824-7
2 Antonio Montes 3-48-34-1,412-9
3 Arnim Kahofer 0-33-32-1,031-5
The set scores:
Set 1:
Zanetti 10, Montes 5, Kahofer 1
Set 2:
Montes 10, Kahofer 5, Zanetti 4
Set 3:
Zanetti 10, Kahofer 3, Montes 1
Set 4:
Zanetti 10, Montes 4, Kahofer 1
Set 5:
Montes 10, Kahofer 6, Montes 2
Set 6:
Zanetti 10 Kahofer 5, Montes 1
Set 7:
Zanetti 10, Kahofer 7, Montes 7
Set 8:
Montes 10, Zanetti 6, Kahofer 4.
Antonio Montes is chasing the leader Marco Zanetti in the coming days