Zanetti on his best when tension is growing

LAUSANNE – Was he in a bad condition, Marco Zanetti, in a bad form, did he have problems to adapt to the table, was Jérémy Bury the opponent who could dominate the trench war match and make it to a disastrous start for the Italian veteran?

No, not at all, because Marco Zanetti’s motto in the game is to never panic. He is a player who has sailed all seas, what he showed again after the awkward start against Jérémy Bury, his teammate in the Agipi team, who led 21-8 at the break.

The position seemed to e hopeless: Zanetti trailed even 24-11 after 17 innings and was walking on thin ice. Six innings later - and after a sprint with seven – he had leveled the match, then Zanetti took the lead and at 35-35 in 27 innings, Bury couldn’t score anymore. Zanetti won 40-35 in 30.

The game can be decisive for outcome in the group: Jérémy Bury, who had a remarkable slump at the end of the match, has only chance to survive with a win against Frédéric Caudron. The Belgian had a pretty good start against Michel Boulaz, whom he beat 40-17 in 23 innings.

Torbjörn Blomdahl, Dick Jaspers and Martin Horn, three ex-teammates in the successful team in the Dutch league that won all prizes, compete in the other group for the places in the semifinal. Rene Hendriksen is the fourth player in the group.

Jaspers-Horn was a crucial match in the first round. The Dutchman was superior from the start, took a 15-3 lead after a run of seven and was blasting away to a bigger gap.

Martin Horn had a strong phase, when he could fight back to 29-23, but then failed in catching up his opponent. Jaspers closed the match without any problem and snatched victory: 40-28 in 20.

It was the best match in the opening session. Torbjörn Blomdahl overpowered his Swiss opponent Rene Hendriksen 40-22 in 24 innings.