Was there a sensation coming up in this afternoon's match between Agipi and Clichy Montmartre? Was the team of Paris with Eddy Merckx, Michael Nilsson, Richard Bitalis and Jean Reverchon capable for a surprise in the semi final against the six fold European champion and for his home crowd again the big favorite?
It seemed to turn ou that way in the match, because after Jean Reverchon's win in the first session against Jean Christoph Roux, Merckx grabbed the first set against Caudron and Nilsson led 1-0 in sets against Zanetti.
The audience in the arena saw a looming thunderstorm above the Agipi arena in Schiltigheim, but in such delicate situations there is always one of the maestro's in the team who stands up for a saving operation. This time it was Marco Zanetti, who was in his first matches of the tournament not on his best, but suddenly got golden wings and showed his best billiard since years.
With a set in eight innings 15-4 he equalized the match against Nilsson, then he attacked from the breakshot with a run of fifteen and a 2-1 lead. The fourth set was another demonstration of his high class. On a score of 4-3 in four innings Zanetti finished the match with eleven, ending the match with an average of 2.944.
The result of that match made the game between Frederic Caudron and Eddy Merckx unnecessary to finish. The two Belgians looked on a score of 2-1 for Merckx, 15-9 (6), 7-15 (10) and 15-13 (6) with a look of hesitation to the sportsleader. He gave the players a gesture to stop the match, because Agipi was by the victories of Bury (3-0) and Zanetti (3-1) and setwins of Caudron (1) and Roux (2) guaranteed of a final place.
The defending champion will play tomorrow against the winner of other semifinal this afternoon between FC Porto and Caseta Nova.