ISTANBUL - His ranking is higher than it's ever been, both on the UMB ranking list and in the table for the overall World Cup win of the season. The almost 40-year old Tayfun Tasdemir (5 November 1975) has enjoyed a brief vacation and is ready for a new challenge: the World Cup in his own Istanbul, where preliminary rounds start on Monday and the main tournament on Friday. He is hungry to score.
Tayfun: ,,After the World Cups in Hochiminh and Guri I went on a holiday trip with friends, to Ölüdeniz, ('Blue Lagoon'), a well known resort some 900 km from Istanbul on the turquoise coast in the south-west of Turkey. I needed the rest. I have not practiced, I've lived without a cue for eight days. Enjoyed the sun and the beach.'' Three days ago he returned to his home in Istanbul where he lives with his older sister. It's near the Bilardo Max club, the billiard room he owns. ,,It is my habit to not practice too much before a tournament, it's what feels best for me. I am well rested and now have a week to get ready, and to find my best form.''
The best year ever for Tayfun will continue this week in his "home" World Cup, where the world's best players do battle. The winner of Ho Chi Minh and runner-up in Guri (lost the final to Dani Sánchez) is quick to name the favorites. ,,It is so tough to win a World Cup, that is why there are not so many main contenders for the victory. Dani Sánchez, Dick Jaspers, me, Eddy Merckx and Torbjörn Blomdahl. And of course, I may not forget: Frédéric Caudron is also one of the big contenders. He always belongs to the best players in a World Cup.''
Tayfun first showed his great form this year in New York at the Verhoeven Open. It took a fantastic Jaspers to stop him, in the final (40-33 in 13), but by then he had already impressed the crowd with victories over Blomdahl in the semi (40-32 in 14) and Coklu in the quarters (40-28 in 18). Three weeks later, there was his groundbreaking succes in Hochiminh, the first World Cup win of his career. He beat Sanchez in the quarters there (40-24 in 10, 4.000 average), went past Cho in the semifinals after a shootout (45-44 in 18, 2.500) and finally his golden race against Blomdahl in the final: 40-34 in 17 (2.353).
Tasdemir, Jaspers, Cho, and Blomdahl rose to a great level in these weeks, but none more so than Sánchez. The Spaniard won the Guri World Cup after a three-year drought, beating Tasdemir in the final by 40-15 in 12, and recorded a shared world record general average of 2.739. Again Tasdemir played a remarkable match, in the semi against Frédéric Caudron. The Belgian was first to play in the shootout after a 40-40 match, ran a six but saw Tayfun beat him with a run of seven. Has Tasdemir, like Dani Sánchez, changed something about his tactics, his style, his position play? He denies it, and says: ,,I feel more at peace inside, at crucial moments. Maybe it's the experience. I feel my strength and trust my quality.'' His mental strength is there when he needs it, as he does now for the World Cup in Istanbul. ,,I am ready for another fight.''