What were the huge plans of Tonny Carlsen this morning, when he came to the billiard for his match against Frederic Caudron? The Dane was well rested, it seemed, he made a wonderful run of ten in the first set and forced his renowned opponent on his chair: 15-10 and a 1-0 lead. But it was a delusion of reality in the playing room in Hurghada. The Belgian then ran in a furious speed with sets of 15-2 (3 innings), 15-5 (7) and 15-3 (7) to af finish with 3-1. Carlsen made in his last three sets only ten points. The average of the Dane dropped back to 1.000, Caudron ended on 2.115.
He can start preparing for the next performance with Sameh Sidhom, who needed a little luck to beat Barry van Beers. The Dutchman, with his typical short stroke, had a lightning start (15-2, 15-12), but then the Egytische dentist came back into the match with sets of 15-9 and 15-13. Before he made the last four points, Sidhom had a lucky ball (on a cushion first shot) to finish the match on 15-12.
Tayfun Tasdemir may enjoy a free day now, after his simple and convincing victory over Javier Teran (15-6, 15-1, 15-8). The Ecuadorian, in South America one of the top players, is usually shut down quickly in tournaments in Europe. At the World Championship in Sluiskil he lost to Luis Aveiga (1-3) and Jérémy Bury (1-3), the match against Tasdemir was even worse with an average 0.625.
Eddy Leppens and Jung Han Heo, who played together last month in the Agipi Masters (when Leppens won with a little score) kept the audience for a long time in exciting on their chairs in a beautiful battle. The Korean had a better start, Leppens showed his character, he made a formidable run of twelve in the tying fourth set (2-2) and had a strong final to strike viciously and effectively.
The Belgian made his last two points in the tenth inning after an unfortunate kiss of the balls for Heo in his last attempt. The large crowd of supporters, who made the trip to Hurghada for Leppens, didn't care: they rewarded the Belgian with a thunderous applause.