England dug deep to beat fourth seeds Portugal, getting their European Championship campaign off to an excellent start.
Tom Jarvis, Paul Drinkhall and Sam Walker (pictured above) all won once, leaving Portugal’s Joao Geraldo empty-handed despite a brave double.
The match also answered (at least based on this sample size) the question of whether left-handers or right-handers are the best, with England’s right-handers sinking a trio of Portuguese left-handers.
Geraldo (WR 109) made a blistering start in the first match, going on the attack from the start and winning the first 11-4.
Walker (WR 182) began counter-attacking to good effect in the second, keeping pace with his opponent before saving a game point and then leveling the match at 12-10.
That pattern of attack and counterattack continued in the third, with Geraldo leading 5-1 but taking his timeout as Walker closed to a 7-6 deficit. It was nicely at 9-9, but it was Geraldo who took the next two.
Walker’s timeout came while trailing 5-2 in the fourth and he worked his way back to 6-6 with smart playmaking. But he could never take the lead and Geraldo made it 11-9.
Jarvis took on 17-year-old Tiago Abiodun and for the first time in these championships in either the men’s or women’s competition, the English player was ranked higher than his opponent.
Things went as expected, Jarvis occasionally trailing by a point or two, but always with a degree of control and on top at the end of the matches as he completed a 3-0 win, with each score 11-8.
Drinkhall (WR 382) vs Joao Monteiro (WR 221) saw a big gap on paper, but perhaps didn’t reflect the actual level of the players.
Monteiro took the first 12-10 and led the second 3-0 before Drinkhall took his timeout. Whatever was said, from that moment on the Englishman was on fire – and at times unplayable. He raced from 4-6 to 11-6 to level the match, and got through 11-4 in the third.
The fourth was a little closer and Monteiro was down 6-5 when he took his timeout. But Drinkhall didn’t let that stop him. He brought up match points with a dead net, although his brilliant play deserved a small reward. He took his second chance when Monteiro’s ball ended up in the net and England were 2-1 up.
Match four turned out to be quite a battle as Geraldo took on Jarvis. Only four points into the match, Geraldo complained about Jarvis’ serve and the referee was called.
That came to nothing, although Jarvis was warned later in the game and one foul would be called in the third.
Jarvis won the first 12-10 after saving a game point, but Geraldo hit back to take the second. Jarvis moved forward again and faced a lengthy debate over a wet ball when he was 9-6 up – eventually winning the replayed point as well.
The match probably revolved around the Portuguese timeout in the fourth, which was taken when they were 6-5 down. Geraldo won five straight points from then on to turn the game around.
Jarvis led the decider 5-2 at the turn-around, taking his timeout at 5-4 and trailing 5-7. He worked his way back to 8-8 but Geraldo, seething with aggression, won the next three points to level the match at 2-2.
And so it came down to Walker versus Abiodun and the Englishman started like a fire, leading 8-1 and eventually winning the first 11-7 as the youngster bounced back.
Abiodun kept the momentum going, leading 9-6 and then closed the match 11-9 in the second after taking his timeout at 9-8.
But Walker took the lead from 3–3 in the third, opening a three-point lead that he maintained as the players traded points to 9–6, then won the match 11–7.
The pattern repeated itself in the fourth, from 3-3 to 6-3 and then to 9-6. And two points later it was all over as the England bench jumped to their feet in celebration.
England now play Greece – who lost 3-1 to Portugal yesterday – in the final group match tomorrow at 9am UK time.
On Sunday, the English women were defeated 3-0 by seventh seeds and hosts Croatia.
With every Croatian player scoring significantly higher than their English counterparts, it was always going to be a tall order for England to get anything out of the match.
However, Tin-Tin Ho hoped to strike an early blow as she won the first game 11-8 against world number 72 Lea Rakovac to fight back from 6-3 down.
The next two matches followed a nearly identical pattern as Rakovac forced an early lead and held it until the finish as she put her nose in front.
Ho (WR 247) took her timeout at 1-4 in the fourth, but to no avail as Rakovac came up with six match points and although Ho saved two, the Croatian completed her 3-1 win.
Tianer Yu (WR 290) started a bit nervously against Hana Arapovic (WR 111) in match two and lost the first four points. She fought back and could have entered the match at 4-6 – only if her opponent won the next five points.
The second was exciting throughout and Yu was the first to earn a game point at 10-9. However, the opportunity could not be taken and Arapovic mercilessly took her own first chance.
Yu led the third 6-0, but had to take her timeout as Arapovic fought back to 6-3. The Croatian led 8-7 and then 10-8. Yu saved the first match point, but not the second.
Jasmin Wong (WR 806) had the dual challenge of facing a player ranked much higher than her and a defender: Ivana Malobabic (WR 118).
Wong started positively to lead 5-2, but once again England’s opponents ruthlessly exposed the gap in the league as Malobabic reeled off eight points in a row to win the first 11-7.
It was a bit of a parade after that as a frustrated Wong could only manage six points in the remaining two games and England’s fate was sealed.
Their remaining match in Group G is against ninth-placed team Italy on Tuesday at 12pm UK time.
Wales started their campaign with a 3-0 defeat to Group A leaders Romania, despite Anna Hursey almost turning her match against Andreea Dragoman, eventually winning 3-2 (12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9). Adina Diaconu carried Charlotte Carey on four in the opening match and Elizabeta Samara completed the win with a 3-0 victory over Danielle Kelly.
Results
Women’s group G
Croatia 3 England 0
3-1 tin-tin ho 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6)
3-0 (11-4-10, 11-9)
Ivana Malobac
Men’s Group D
England 3 Portugal 2
Joao Geraldo v Sam Walker 3-1 (11-4, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9)
Tom Jarvis Bt Turodun 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-8)
Paul Drinkhall v Joao Monteiro 3-1 (10-12, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7)
Geraldo and Jarvis 3-2 (10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8)
Walker with Adiodun 3-1 (11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6)
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