BORDEAUX - The true Spanish friendship showed after the match. Ruben Legazpi, who had been hit by a steamtrain called Dani Sanchez for the second time in a few months, looked at the other quarterfinals from the stands, and said: ,,I so hope Dani wins the tournament now.'' The man himself had gone to dinner in the city after his sparkling performance, and was not there to see Torbjörn Blomdahl and Eddy Merckx win the other quarterfinals. He also showed respect: ,,It is really tough for Ruben, he deserved to win, even more than I did.''
The facts: Ruben Legazpi had the match all tied up, it seemed. He got over the winning line with his 40th point in the 21st inning: 40-32. What happened earlier: Ruben Legazpi and Dani Sanchez played the final of the Spanish championship, Legazpi finishing the match at 40-34. Dani scored the missing six in the equalizing inning, and won the shootout 3-2. Back to Bordeaux 2015: Under intense pressure, Dani Sánchez made the missing eight points to equalize, and won the shootout 3-2! Lightning struck twice, in a clash between two Spaniards, one of whom almost always wins. That winner, Sanchez, has mysterious powers when he needs them. ,,I realy hope he wins now'', said Ruben once again. His friend Dani: ,,I really feel for Ruben, to have this happen to him twice in a short time.'' Both top players made no secret of their friendship and admiration for each other's qualities.
Dani Sánchez, three-time world champion, looks ready for a new bid for the gold. Tomorrow (Saturday) he will face Dong Koong Kang in the semi, the only Korean left in the tournament, and a man in the winning mood after his lucrative win in the LG-Cup (38.000 euro) . Kang ended the dreamlike tournament of Sameh Sidhom: 40-29 in 31. In the last session of the quarterfinals, Torbjörn Blomdahl and Eddy Merckx came out on top. The Swede had a fast start against Dick Jaspers (22-5 in 7 innings) and never gave away that advantage: 40-27 in 19. Blomdahl commented later, like a good winner: ,,I am never under that much pressure when I play against Dick, because he is one of the best of us.'' He did have the impression that the Dutchman looked a bit tired.'' Dick Jaspers didn't agree: ,,I was not tired at all, but it is still difficult to play on these tables. You have to think about everything, and with my game, that means you are short on time.''
Eddy Merckx and Tayfun Tasdemir turned their match into a true nailbiter, decided by Merckx from 39-39: 40-39 in 22. The Belgian was trailing all the way, after Tasdemir had run 11, but he fought back when the Turkish stylist missed five innings in a row when he was on 35. It allowed Merckx to get alongside at 35-35. It was still Tasdemir who got to 39 first (39-37), and then a fascinating fight ensued. Merckx missed his first match ball at 39-39 ( a makeable twice-around), Tasdemir got two extremely tough positions, and Merckx finally closed the door on him: 40-39 in 22. Tomorrow (Saturday) is the closing day, with the semifinals starting at 14.00: Dong Koong Kang-Dani Sánchez 16.00 uur: Torbjörn Blomdahl-Eddy Merckx. Final is at 18.30.