BORDEAUX - The first performance of Dick Jaspers at the World championship three cushion in Bordeaux showed that the homeland of the Dutch number three of the world ranking doesn't need to worry about his form. Frédéric Caudron and Torbjörn Blomdahl had more troubles to get out of the starting blocks. The Belgian Caudron even was 20-2 down against Erick Tellez after seven innings and could come back slowly after the break. The match was mainly marked by many kisses and difficult positions.
,,My match was not good at all, I didn't feel well and only have to blame myself for the many misses in a bad match'', Caudron said after the match that he eventually won with two small runs (4 and 6) at the end: 40-34 at 33.
Blomdahl had the same slow start playing against Christoforou from Cyprus. The Swede led 12-5 after 15 innings and 22-9 after 20 innings. The wake-up came with his run of twelve in the 21st inning, but for his last six points, Blomdahl needed another six innings: 40-17 in 27.
Eddy Merckx started his mission against Raimond Burgman with a solid 40-24 in 20 innings after a decisive run of ten in the fifteenth inning. The Dutchman could balance until 21-19 in thirteen innings and then lost his rhythm and his way.
Dick Jaspers after the first session: ,,I watched some matches when I had finished. My feeling is that one of the top ten players in the world will win this World championship. We can deal better with the tension than most other players.''
Torbjörn Blomdahl, a wake-up with a high run after the break
Frédéric Caudron, I didn't feel good at all and can only blame myself