Austria’s Mathias Habesohn was the player in form on the third day
of action, Friday 29th May 2009, at the Belarus Open in Minsk;
furthermore, he caused the biggest shock of the tournament to date.
In
the opening round of the Men’s Singles event he won a titanic struggle
against Germany’s Zoltan Fejer-Konnerth, the no.2 seed; it was not only
the biggest surprise of the day, it was arguably the best match seen in
the first three days.
Mathias Habesohn won a classic contest 14-12, 8-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 16-14.
Problems in Qualification Stage
It
was a tremendous performance by a player who had experienced defeat in
the qualification stage of proceedings and had progressed to the main
draw by virtue of the fact that he had finished in second place in his
group.
In the group stage he was beaten in seven games by
Alachoslav Krivosheev of Russia but overcame the Belarus duo of
Aliaksandr Labanouski and Andrei Fiodarau to finish the group in
runners up spot.
First Meeting
A place in the main draw secured, he made the most of the opportunity.
"It
was the first time we’ve met in a singles match", said Mathias
Habesohn. "I’ve played against him in doubles but lost easily, no
chance."
The record in singles is much better and Habesohn was well aware of the pedigree of his adversary.
Respect
"I
think he is a great player; since I was a small boy, I have watched him
on television", continued Habesohn. "It is a delight to watch him play,
I respect him very much; he is ranked higher than me so winning was a
surprise."
Undoubtedly, the fact that Habesohn had already
competed in three matches in the group stage was of benefit to him; a
fact he recognised.
"it was his first match in Minsk", said the
Austrian. "On the other hand I had played some matches, I was
accustomed to the hall; that helped me; naturally I’m very happy!"
Problems for Brother
Mathias
Habesohn may be happy but brother, Daniel, certainly was not; seeded
no.12 he was one of three further seeds in the lower half of the draw
to experience a first round exit.
He lost to Poland’s Piotr
Chmiel, the latter winning in six games (11-5, 12-10, 10-12, 8-11,
11-5, 11-8); similarly for Russia’s Mikhail Paykov, seeded no.28 and
Franc’e Loic Bobillier, there was defeat.
Dane in Form
Paykov was beaten by the in form Dane Morten Hyrup Rasmussen, whilst Bobillier suffered at hands of Russia’s Alexander Shibaev.
Rasmussen won 10-12, 11-3, 11-7, 11-1, 6-11, 11-5 whilst Shibaev succeeded 11-9, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8.
Repeat Match
Defeats
for four seeded players in the lower half of the Men’s Singles draw and
an exit with playing for Croatia’s Roko Tosic, the no.7 seed; the
enforced absence of the Croatian paved the way for qualifier Dmitro
Pysar of Ukraine to book his place in the second round.
He beat
Poland’s Boguslaw Koszyk in straight games (11-5, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9);
thus repeating the result in the qualification stage; the two had met
in the group stage where Pysar had also won in straight games.
Seeds Progress
Problems
for seeds in the lower half of the draw but no problems for Evgueni
Chtchetine of Belarus, seeded no.4 and Emmanuel Lebesson of France,
seeded no.8.
The former overcame Russia’s Artem Panchenko (11-5,
11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4) whilst Lebesson defeated the Czech
Republic’s Tomas Tregler (9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 6-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6).
Source: www.ittf.com
