After a full day of qualification matches, all spots were filled in Montreux, and the draw for the Round of 16 at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup was held at the Omnisports Montreux. On Friday, the Round of 16 matches will be played for both men and women. Saturday is reserved for the Quarterfinals for both categories, and Sunday for the Semifinals and finals of the men’s and women’s singles.

The lineup for the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup Round of 16 is complete. On the opening day of the competition in Montreux, after two wins in the qualification stage, Solomiya BRATEYKO of Ukraine, Sabine WINTER of Germany, her compatriot Benedikt DUDA, and Daniel HABESOHN of Austria secured their places in the main draw. On her debut in Montreux, 20-year-old BRATEYKO reached the main draw after wins over Giorgia PICCOLIN of Italy and Ivana MALOBABIC of Croatia. “I was so nervous before my match. Firstly, when I saw the draw, I thought I had to win the opening match and play well… and then I was mentally prepared for the clash against Xia Lian NI. But then Giorgia won, and my chances rose. Unfortunately, even that didn’t help me; I was so stressed. I wanted to get into the main draw, and now I am so happy,” said BRATEYKO. HABESOHN overcame Joao GERALDO of Portugal in the second round, having previously beaten Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia. Both matches saw the momentum swing back and forth in dramatic turns. “It cost me some years of life, matches like this,” said HABESOHN, laughing. “After the GERALDO match, it was quite strange, especially in the last game. I was up 5-1 and had the game completely under control in the fifth. Then, I started to play a little bit passively, and he seized the opportunity and didn’t miss. I realized my mistake.” Recording eight points in a row or losing it, you can never predict Daniel’s game. “My game is generally very risky. I am very focused on the balls, and I am trying to make sure it will work. In these two matches, I managed to hit more than I missed. Against Joao, I had a good tactic in the decisive game. At 7-7, I switched to my backhand serve, and it was perfect because he misread it twice, so I got direct points.” In 2019, HABESOHN had his best result in Montreux. In the semifinals, he lost to Timo BOLL after prevailing against Simon GAUZY and Marcos FREITAS. Sabine WINTER inflicted pain on the host nation supporters by beating Rachel MORET of Switzerland. “This was my first international match since switching to the anti-topspin rubber, and I was very satisfied with it. Today, you could see how different matches with the anti can be, depending on the opponent,” said WINTER. Runner-up at the European Championships in Linz last year, Benedikt DUDA overcame Liam PITCHFORD to secure his place among the top 16 players tomorrow. “This was a solid performance from me. It was my first international match against him ever—we had only played once in the Bundesliga a few years ago. But I handled him well in the serve-and-return game and am very satisfied with my performance. Now I have reached my first milestone, and from here, we’ll take it one round at a time.” See the pictures here. Match for the place in the Top 16

After six years, Rachel MORET of Switzerland finally rewarded herself with the long-awaited victory at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup. There have always been no adversaries who could underestimate Rachel, but when it came to the final step, the Swiss player was often on the wrong side of the result. Today, in the opening stage of the qualifications, MORET, ranked No. 39 in Europe, overcame Hana MATELOVA of Czechia, who is ranked No. 16, after a thrilling five-game match that went back and forth. “Three times I lost 3-4, I had match ball against Sofia POLCANOVA…I was so close so many times,” reflected MORET, who had faced POLCANOVA of Austria four times, had a match ball once, and also lost to Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania and Nina MITTELHAM. However, MORET has never gone down without a great fight, and all players know how competitive she is. “I am so happy. It was important for me to win one match here after so many tries. I was so nervous as we approached the end. The whole duel went up and down. It was 1-2, 2-7 for MATELOVA in the fourth game, then in the decisive game, I was up 9-5 before Hana leveled. It was so stressful,” said MORET. Hana MATELOVA of Czechia – Rachel MORET of Switzerland 2-3 (13-15, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11)

The CCB Europe Top 16 Cup commenced today in Montreux, nestled on the shores of the serene Lake Geneva, a picturesque town that captures the essence of Swiss beauty. This year’s edition of the tournament is extended to include qualification rounds, which took place today. Eight players are fighting for the two positions in the main draw, which will begin tomorrow. In the morning session, the highest-ranked players in the qualification rounds, Xia Lian NI of Luxembourg and Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia, faced early exits. In the Women’s event, Giorgia PICCOLIN of Italy triumphed over NI. PICCOLIN played a flawless game and maintained her focus while handling NI’s constant changes in tactics and rhythm. Despite a momentary lapse in focus that cost her the second game, PICCOLIN regained control and secured the win. In the Men’s event, Daniel HABESOHN overcame PUCAR. HABESOHN was down 4-8 but fought back to beat PUCAR 11-9 in the decisive game, once again highlighting his unpredictability. The opening round of the qualifications See the pictures here.