BERLICUM - How exciting could it be on the opening day of the Jumbo Masters in Berlicum with short matches to three won sets. Martien van der Spoel went up to 9-9 in set positions three times in a row in the decisive part of his match against Jack van Peer and eventually won them all for a 3-1 final score. His opponent, a first time Masters player from Brabant, tried eight times for a set point in vain in the noiseless arena in the Benelux Theatre. Joey de Kok, another rookie, already lost many of his chances due to a 3-0 loss against Jeffrey Jorissen, one of the contenders for the title. Kay de Zwart, ahead of Jeffrey Jorissen, Dick Jaspers, Barry van Beers and Jean van Erp, was the best day winner on average.
The touching excuse that Joey de Kok, a 24-year old guy from Zeeland, made, fitted well in the culture of this first day at the Masters with many nerve-racking matches: ''I was relaxed before the start, but blocked because I felt my heart pounding''. Jack van Peer and Joey de Kok felt the pressure all too well in this early part of the tournament. Dick Jaspers, Jeffrey Jorissen, Barry van Beers and Jean van Erp, routine players in the field, could deal better with the tension and won their matches with acceptable starting averages.
Jeffrey Jorissen, the man who should play the most under pressure due to the situation at home (a baby on the way), had a flawless start. ''I practiced a lot in matches to short sets with Jean van Erp. And of course you feel more pressure, because every mistake can be punished. But still, it's a game of billiards anyway. Try to put it out of your head.'' Just like: what would happen if Jeffrey's wife would give birth during the tournament. ''Then I'm gone'', the man from The Hague resolutely answered. ''But let's take the best scenario: champion on Thursday, the baby on Friday.''
Frans Schaik, another strong winner against Harrie van de Ven, said afterwards: ''I don't feel any tension even when there are 400 people in the stands. But now I started with another mindset, a missed break shot and six misses. How can you explain that? Feeling this abnormal pressure? Only, I recovered quickly and then started to play well''. Roland Uijtdewillegen experienced the opposite: a promising first set against Raymund Swertz (10-4 in 4), then a remarkably long relapse in three lost sets and twenty misses in the ultimate phase in which Swertz sovereignly took the win. Joey de Kok had an even more punishing slump: two expensive, unnecessary misses in his last two innings in the first set, a six-zero start in the second set (10-0 in 6) and three misses in five innings in the third set.
Anyway, for most players it was a typical opening day at the Masters in this strange bubble. When the balance was drawn up, Kay de Zwart was the best winner of the day with a 3-0 victory over Ludo Kools and 1,765 on average, followed by Jeffrey Jorissen with 1,666, Dick Jaspers 1,636, Barry van Beers 1,619 and Jean van Erp 1,500.
Kay de Zwart, in his second appearance tomorrow, will face Barry van Beers, who outplayed a major rival, Dave Christiani, 3-1. Jean van Erp had a quickie against Huub Wilkowski with 10-1, 10-4 and 10-8. Ludo Kools, despite his 3-0 loss against Kay de Zwart, signed for the best run: 8.
The group rankings (match points, average, sets, best runs):
Group A:
1 Frans van Schaik 2-1,304 3-0-5
2 Dick Jaspers 2-1,636-3-1-6
3 Raimond Burgman 0-1,238-1-3-5
4 Harrie van de Ven 0-0,909-0-3-3
Frans van Schaik, leader in his group followed by Dick Jaspers
Group B:
1 Jeffrey Jorissen 2-1,666-3-0-5
2 Martien van der Spoel 2-0,951-3-1-4
3 Jack van Peer 0-0,825-1-3-4
4 Joey de Kok 0-0,562-0-3-4
Martien van der Spoel, three times winner in the set after 9-9 score
Group C:
1 Jean van Erp 2-1,500-3-0-5
2 Raymund Swertz 2-1,060-3-1-5
3 Roland Uijtdewillegen 0-0,718-1-3-5
4 Huub Wilkowski 0-0,722-0-3-4
Jean van Erp, start with a 3-0 victory over Huub Wilkowski
Raymund Swerts, 1-0 down and 3-1 winst over Roland Uijtdewillegen
Group D:
1 Kay de Zwart 2-1,765-3-1-6
2 Barry van Beers 2-1,619-3-0-5
3 Dave Christiani 0-1,300-1-3-6
4 Ludo Kools 0-1,188-0-3-8.
Kay de Zwart, the day's best on average
Barry van Beers launched himself with a win over Dave Christiani
The winner's matches on Monday on the TV-table are:
10.00: Kay de Zwart-Barry van Beers
11.35: Frans van Schaik-Dick Jaspers
13.10: Jeffrey Jorissen-Martien van der Spoel
14.45: Jean van Erp-Raymund Swertz
The matches on the second table
10.00: Dave Christiani-Ludo Kools
11.35: Raimond Burgman-Harrie van de Ven
13.10: Jack van Peer-Joey de Kok
14.45: Roland Uijtdewillegen-Huub Wilkowski.