ANKARA – The semi-finals at the World Cup in Ankara will be contested this Sunday in a traditional Netherlands-Belgium derby (Glenn Hofman-Eddy Merckx) and in a match between Vietnam and Egypt (Quyet Chien Tran-Sameh Sidhom). Saturday's quarter-finals culminated in a thrilling match between Sameh Sidhom and Marco Zanetti. The two players kept each other in balance with wonderful attacks, counters and high runs. The Italian missed three times the match point, the last with a heavy draw shot that narrowly missed. Sameh Sidhom seized his last chance and finished with 5.
The Dutch, who in recent World Cups often shine with two players instead of only Jaspers, defeated the last Koreans in Ankara. Dick Jaspers had a winning sprint in a powerful finish against Myung Woo Cho, but later ran into a rock-solid Eddy Merckx in the Holland-Belgium match for the quarter-finals. This Saturday, Glenn Hofman first defeated one of the last two Turks, Tolgahan Kiraz, and then knocked Haeng Jik Kim out of this World Cup. For the Asians, only Quyet Chien Tran is still in contention for the podium places. Sameh Sidhom took advantage of a costly mistake by Marco Zanetti, and Eddy Merckx outwitted the multiple winner Dick Jaspers.
The semi-final matches are on Sunday:
10.30 (9.30 in Western Europe): Eddy Merckx-Glenn Hofman
13:00 (12:00 in Western Europe): Sameh Sidhom-Quyet Chien Tran.
The match between Glenn Hofman and Haeng Jik Kim deserved extra attention. The Dutchman and the Korean are friends for many years. In their match for a place in the semi-finals, Hofman was by far the better player. Haeng Jik Kim opened the attack at lightning speed with runs of 11 and 7 in the first two innings (18-7 lead). Hofman countered twice with runs of 9 and paved the way for a comfortable win, because Kim had too many zeros in the final part: 50-36 in 27/26.
Dick Jaspers faced a cool killer in his match against Eddy Merckx, just as he usually is himself in the final stages of important matches. The Holland-Belgium derby is always very popular in sport, also in three-cushion billiards. Jaspers was the best starter with an early 9, but Merckx's consistency (three sixes) kept himself in the game. As the tension rose in the final phase, the Belgian went to high heights and the Dutchman had to capitulate with 7 zeros for the last ten innings: the final score was 50-38 in 26/25.
Quyet Chien Tran was much better than Jérémy Bury in the first part of their match: the Vietnamese did not score any high runs, yet he led 22-11. The Frenchman, after a magnificent World Cup in Ankara, now lacked the strength to fight back. The long silence in the second part was broken by Tran with runs of 9 and 8 (43-22), and it was 7 innings later that the Vietnamese player pulled the trigger at 50-35 in 29.
Marco Zanetti had a formidable start against Sameh Sidhom with 9 and 8 for a 18-4 lead in 4. Sidhom showed his great fighting spirit and balanced the match with first a 7 and shortly after 12, 4 and 6 for a 35-29 lead. With a masterful 15, Zanetti again pulled the almost winning card, but he missed the match point three times. The Egyptian made 6, 2 and finally 5 to secure the win: 50-49 in 20.
Eddy Merckx won his match vs Jaspers, is now facing another Dutchman, Glenn Hofman
Quyet Chien Tran, the last of the Asians in Ankara World Cup
Sameh Sidhom, a narrow escape in his match with Marco Zanetti, who missed three match balls
Best 16 matches
Marco Zanetti had shone in the round of the best 16 with a run of 16 against Vietnamese Phuong Vinh Bao, which the Italian eventually won 50-33 in 22/21. Quyet Chien Tran, the best Vietnamese player, and Jung Han Heo, the best Korean player, who on Friday played a match with 5.000 on average and a 22 run, played a solid match for a place in the quarter-finals. The final went in Tran's favour, who won 50-41 in 21/20.
Jérémy Bury sent the last Turk, Tasdemir, home: 50-31 in 26. The Turkish public will therefore have to do without a real favourite in the final rounds on Saturday evening and Sunday.
Dimitrios Seleventas put up a long fight against Sameh Sidhom, but in the final phase, after a long battle, he had to bow to the Egyptian: 50-41 in 45. Eddy Merckx knocked Myeong Jong Cha, also one of the last Koreans, out of the tournament with 50-35 in 25/24.