BRANDENBURG AN DER HAVEL - After their respective matches, Torbjörn Blomdahl and Eddy Merckx met at the coffee table for a litle post mortem. ,,I was lucky so far, in this tournament'', said Blomdahl candidly. His match with Nikos Polychronopoulos was just over, and he confessed: ,,It hurts to win in that way, because Nikos is such a nice guy.''
Nevertheless, the Swede goes into the semifinals, as do Eddy Merckx, Dick Jaspers and Adnan Yüksel. The pairings for tomorrow: Jaspers-Merckx and Blomdahl-Yüksel. The Belgian made the best impression so far, with 120 points in 52 innings: 2.307. Dick Jaspers was steady all the way, Adnan Yüksel only had a hiccup in his last match against Martin Bohac and Torbjörn Blomdahl won by a margin twice, and got away well in his encounter with Nikos Polychronopoulos. ,,He made a really good comeback in the middle of the match, when I did not score at all.'', said Blomdahl.
The Greek commented: ,,We were even (29-29) when Torbjörn made a fluke, and it brought him a run of six. That hit me hard mentally, and I did not recover.'' Understandably, said his opponent. ,,Who would not be devastated, given the timing?.''
The Swede again put the empasis on his good fortune: ,,In my first two matches my opponents were unlucky or unproductive, and now I have this piece of luck to add to that.'' The match between two of the quickest players on the tour ended in a bit of an anti-climax, when 29-29 turned inot 40-32 in 22, Blomdahl the winner.
Eddy Merckx, the best on average in the semifinals
Eddy Merckx then had already finished against Murat Tüzül (40-19 in fifteen). The Belgian had no comment about good luck or bad, was down to earth about his form, and merely looked ahead to the final day. He will meet his teammate Dick Jaspers in the semifinal. Merckx looks set to make his bid for the tournament victory.
Jaspers has shown top form for weeks now, even it was not always there in the encounter with Christian Rudolph, who slowed matters down as he always does. It did not help him enough to mount a challenge though: 40-25 in 25. Adnan Yüksel ended the fairy tale of Martin Bohac, who played the tournament of his life and was given a 40-33 in 33 inning goodbye salute.
Dick Jaspers cries out his joy after the win
The semifinals on Sunday will start at 12.00:
Jaspers-Merckx and Blomdahl-Yüksel.
The final is scheduled for 18.00.
Adnan Yüksel defeated the revelation Martin Bohac.