ANDERNOS - The unexpectedly strong final sprint of Peter De Backer has lifted the tension in the battle with Jérémy Bury for the Kozoom Challenge to a climax. The routine Belgian, rarely seen in major tournaments anymore, took an 8-7 lead over his French opponent in the last four sets on the early evening of the second day. The number 67 of the world rankings leads the battle with the number 15 to a thriller on the final day. Dane Jacob Haack Sörensen, with one set won, plays no role in that.
That is the not expected climax of this group, which must yield the fourth player for the Kozoom finals of the Kozoom Challenge. Jérémy Bury showed himself the best starter, just like on the first day, Peter De Backer was again the very best finisher. That will hopefully make the showdown on the final day to an exciting camp, in which the almost chanceless Haack Sörensen can be a kind of hangman.
Peter De Backer, after his masterful final sprint, still made the relaxed impression that he shows from the start. He was asked by Kozoom interviewer Jérémie Picart: what makes you so cool at the end of the sets, when the tension is so high? The Belgian answered imperturbably and with his well known smile: ''I know from experience that you can only win a match if you make the last point.'' And that was só true: De Backer was just a little more up in arms than Bury and certainly than Haack Sörensen in these two sessions.
He showed that again in the last session of the day, which started with a 7-7 score for the two leaders and in which the winner would take the top position in the ranking. The score was 5-2 in favour of the Belgian when Bury reached 9-5 with a run of 7 and set point, but he could not make the last ball. De Backer, who had been looking on from his chair in a very relaxed way, first brought the score to 9-9 with a run of 4 and after his opponent had missed another set point, the Belgian could strike with an easy bankshot in the corner.
So, from a pretty comfortable 7-4 for Jérémy Bury after 12 sets, the final reckoning of day two went to 8-7 for the Belgian in the last four sets. And the final day surely promises to be a great fight with the leading player who is only getting stronger in self-confidence and a runner-up with some doubt.
In the interview, the Frenchman talked about the 'touch of luck' and the positions being so important and decisive as the sets come to the end. But he also reacted on the interviewer's question about the difficulty of distinguishing the yellow and orange colour of the balls with his 'colour blindness'. Bury revealed: ''It's an extra difficulty, because if I'm close to the table, I can't see the difference.''
The set scores on the second day:
Set 9: Bury 10, Sörensen 4, De Backer 3
Set 10: De Backer 10, Bury 9, Sörensen 6
Set 11: Bury 10, Sörensen 7, De Backer 3
Set 12: Bury 10, De Backer 1, Sörensen 1
Set 13: De Backer 10, Bury 7, Sörensen 6
Set 14: De Backer 10, Sörensen 2, Bury 1
Set 15: De Backer 10, Sörensen 7, Bury 6
Set 16: De Backer 10, Bury 9, Sörensen 4.
The ranking after two days:
1 Peter De Backer 8-1,256-6
2 Jérémy Bury 7-1,531-7
3 Jacob Haack Sörensen 1-1,143-8
Peter De Backer: ,,My experience learns me that you can't win a match if you don't make the last point.''
Jacob Haack Sörensen doesn't play a final role in the match: ''I really can't feel the table, these are not my days to remember.''