SCHILTIGHEIM – Whoever would still have bet a euro on the chances of Frédéric Caudron, might as well have jumped in the icecold water of the Rhine. Who thought that Dick Jaspers would miss out on a formidable victory over the Belgian, had better left the auditorium for a trip to historic Strasbourg.
But sometimes the events on the billiard table have a way of rewriting reality.
Frédéric Caudron, in his match with Jaspers, experienced one of the strangest hours in his career. The world number 1 could not score, seemed tied up in his chair, and was almost humiliated in his own Agipi arena.
Caudron was trailing 26-2 after 10 innings, and it become 39-5 after 13. Things got worse: 44-7 after 15, and of course noboby could ever close a gap of 37 points.
Desperation was on the Belgians face, he sipped water, rubbed his head with a towel, and looked like a lamb ready for the slaughter.
But then, when Caudron and Jaspers are at the table, miracles do tend to happen.
Perhaps a magnificent run by Eddy Leppens on the adjacent table was a turning point in the match. The Belgian, friend and teammate of Caudron, was basically out of the tournament, but treated the spectators to a glorious run of 18, at the end of his match against Choong Bok Lee.
Caudron later said: ,,I was just hoping that I could get my average back up to a halfway decent level, I was not even thinking of winning that match. And I thought: hopefully the audience will not make fun of me.’’
He tried to explain that horrendous start, and said: ,,The balls ran so awkward for me in the beginning, I could not get any rhythm going. And Dick played really well, he scored a lot, and left me with nothing when he missed.’’
Then, suddenly, the tide turned.
Frédéric Caudron first had a good spell, making 2, 4, 5 and 2, and then went to the table fora n explosion class, resulting in a majestic run of 20.
It brought him back to 46-38, which in itself was a minor miracle, as the match had looked utterly lost. The audience was treated to an ever better apotheosis: Caudron kept ons coring and Jaspers produced 6 open innings on the trot, to even the score at 46-46 after 23.
The final run was for Caudron, who ran a 4 (50-47 in 24) and brought the house down.
Dick Jaspers could not conclude anything other than: ,,It was my own fault. I did not finish it off.’’ The other side of the medaillon: Frédéric Caudron had once again shown himself at his best, a supernaturally gifted player.
After this win, the Belgian has 6 out of 3, and is the first one placed for the finals. Dick Jaspers, Sung-Won Choi and Choong Bok Lee (who lost to Leppens, 50-16 in 20) are still in the running for second place.
The last matches of today:
Caudron-Lee and Jaspers-Choi.