3-Cushion
HURGHADA – The peloton of the World Cup has only just been fired off, and Mr. O (his full last name), the hero from the WC in Porto, is already out of the competition. The Japanese player who eliminated Filippos Kasidokostas and Dick Jaspers, only to be stopped by Frédéric Caudron in the quarterfinal of the WC, can now pack his bags after just one match in Egypt.
A complete unknown before Porto, no time for Takeshima (first name) to make new fans in this World Cup. Murat Naci Coklu, one of the seven Turks, wasted no time (15-5, 15-12, 15-4) and finished before the Japanese could even charm the audience with his smile.
Torbjörn Blomdahl (Mr. B) and Eddy Leppens made their encounter a tooth-and-nail match. The Swedish player drew the long straw, but needed some luck from 11 – 10 in the deciding set.
,,I finished with a fluke'', he admitted. Eddy Leppens even said: ,,He made three lucky shots in his last four points.'' Be that as it may: Blomdahl stayed in the tournament: 15-8, 10-15, 15-10, 6-15, 15-10 (1.487/1.414), Leppens, who fought back gallantly twice, was out after a single round.
Dani Sánchez was the best starter of the four first round winners: he beat the most feared opponent in this round, Turkish Tayfun Tasdemir, who before the tournament even speculated about winning the event, and consequently winning the overall World Cup.
The Spaniard was strong and consistent in all sets, his opponent could only dominate in the third: 15-8, 15-13, 13-15, 15-8 (2.071/1.692).
Jérémy Bury missed one setball against Egyptian Riad Nady. He quickly recovered and cruised to an easy victory. The scoreline and the averages tell the story adequatly: 15-8, 14-15, 15-7, 15-10, 1.638/0.914.