1-Cushion
CERVERA - The 38-year-old Swiss Xavier Gretillat has presented as one of the big title contenders in the first round of the European championship one cushion in Cervera. He is the proud leader of Group B after two wins and an average of 17.86 in the main tournament.
The championship is on his way with four groups of four, who all played two matches now. The other groups have started their second performance today.
The Spaniard Jordi Gasso is the surprising leader in Group B, in which he plays with the defending champion Wolfgang Zenkner and Arnim Kahofer. Gasso leads with three points, but will meet Zenkner later today.
Xavier Gretillat gathered his four match points in two great wins against Axel Büscher (125-26 in 8) and Marek Faus (125-52 in 6) and showed his excellent form. He was the best of the tournament on the first day.
The Frenchman Alain Remond leads Group C with four match points and 16.67 average. His compatriot Bernard Villiers also has four match points in Group D and averagee 12.50. Patrick Niessen lost his first game in that group, won his second and has 6.75 average.
Xavier Le Roy, Frédéric Caudron, René Tull and Jean Paul de Bruijn have a good chance to win their group in the next sessions of the day. Caudron prevailed against Alvaro Gomez at the start (125-28 in 12), De Bruijn defeated Vincent Giacomini in ten innings with the highest run of the day (89).