LUXOR - The return of Semih Sayginer at the World Cup circuit hasn't been a great success so far. The Turkish billiard prince was sent home after one or two matches in the three tournaments he played last year. And also at the Luxor World Cup there is just a little hope after one performance. Sayginer needs a miracle to survive after he lost in the first group match to Birol Uymaz.
The 29-year-old Turk, who is a member of the same club as Sayginer (Tüzül club), dazzled of the match against his illustrious countryman at a breakneck pace. Uymaz faced a 6-0 deficit after two innings, but then furiously attacked. He ran out with seven in the sixth inning to 9-2, ten in the eleventh inning (22-9) and a final run of seven in the sixteenth inning. Thereby he left the famous show master painfully far behind: 30-10.
Birol Uymaz quickly disappeared out of the arena after the match to find his room. The emotions obviously were too much. He later told: ,,I consider Semih as my coach, because we often play together in the club. He shows me how to solve certain positions when I ask him.''
Twice before they met each other in an official match. ,,My first time against Semih I lost, today I felt very strong. I could make good runs in the good moments and run away to a big lead.''
The match ended in a deception for Sayginer. He had a bit of bad luck after the break and two or three kisses, so that he couldn't score. But it's undeniable that ten caroms in sixteen innings is a way too poor for a high class player as he is. The elimination is almost inevitable: the Spaniard Ricardo Garcia Alarcon is the third player in the group. Birol Uymaz must have a huge slump to still lose his chances.
The conclusion must be for Sayginer, that again he will nother gather valuable points for the ranking, like in the World Cups in Porto (wildcard and a loss to Torbjörn Blomdahl), Guri (loss in the group against Lütfi Cenet and Xuan Cuong Ma) and Hurghada (loss against Ronny Brants).
Semih Sayginer couldn't resist the attack of the young Birol Uymaz.
The best match so far on this third day came from the Turk Hakan Incekara, who beat the Korean Ra Hee Kim 30-13 in 15 innings. Tae Soo Lim, later today the opponent of Therese Klompenhouwer, started with a victory in 21 innings, as Ahmet Bayatli did in his match against Ilhan Ürküt. Cetin Behzat passed the finish in 22 innings. Mohamed Zayed, Dionisis Tsokantas, Murat Tüzül and Ahmet Alp in 24 innings.