Day two of the 2025 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux brought the highly anticipated Round of 16 matches. You can follow the live stream and results at ETTU TV and the ETTU website. Pictures are available here on Flickr. Jonathan GROTH – Andres LIND 3-1 (12-10, 14-12, 11-13, 11-2) For anyone struggling to wake up, the fierce action from the very beginning of the day was sure to shake them awake. In the all-Danish clash in the opening game, Jonathan GROTH, seeded 12th, overcame Anders LIND, the 8th seed. LIND had three match points at 10-7 in the opening game before eventually losing 10-12. The tight, point-by-point battle continued throughout the second game, with GROTH keeping his nerves steadier in the tense finish. In a powerful exchange of rallies, the match entered the third game with LIND managing to convert his advantage and narrow the gap to 1-2. “It’s always very difficult to play against your friend and teammate. I wasn’t 100 percent comfortable. In the opening game, I was down 10-7 before I won it. I didn’t start very well. In the second game, I played better, led, had many game points, and somehow won it. He also had some service mistakes, which helped. It’s always tough against him – he has a very tricky service game. He risks a lot, and sometimes those risks lead to mistakes on his serve. In the third game, it was up and down. I led 3-0, but then he came back, and I did too. On match point, I had a high ball, and maybe I hesitated a bit. However, I lost that game, but the most important thing was I came back strong in the fourth. As I said, we know each other very well, and I think playing in this venue is not always easy. It’s fast and spinny, but as the match progressed, we both started to play some good rallies. I’m happy to win, but I would have preferred to win against someone else,” explained GROTH. Marcos FREITAS – Andrej GACINA 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-4) Marcos FREITAS overcame Andrej GACINA in a less dramatic fashion. The Portuguese player defeated his doubles partner, with whom he won the gold medal at the European Championships in Gdansk, Sopot, in 2011. “It was a good match, and I’m very pleased with my performance. In the last two international events, In Qatar in January, I didn’t play very well. I struggled to get into the match, so I’m happy with how I played here. GACINA is a good player. We’re friends and know each other very well. We won the European Championships in doubles some years ago. It’s always a tricky game because he knows my game, and I know his. I’m also aware of his strong service. However, I can be satisfied with the level of my consistency today. In the end, I kept putting more balls on the table and played it safe. I did not miss many balls. On the other hand, he was not as comfortable. It was our first match, so it took some time for him to adjust. My service and receive game were good, and that was important,” said FREITAS. Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania – Georgina POTA of Hungary 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-6) In superb style, Eliza SAMARA defeated Georgina POTA without losing a single game. “I was very well prepared for this match. I was confident with my serve and knew exactly where the ball would land. I controlled the match and forced POTA to change her approach in the end. She had to do that because I didn’t give her many options. I was everywhere on the table. I don’t remember the last time I felt this good at the start of a match. Usually, I get into the match more slowly, but I’m glad it happened this way here in Montreux. With this format of best-of-five games, there’s no time for a slow start. If you’re 0-2 down, it’s very hard to come back,” said SAMARA. Fu YU of Portugal – Ying HAN of Germany 0-3 (6-11, 12-14, 4-11) Ying HAN was at the top of her game against Fu Yu. After a long break due to injury, HAN returned to the European scene on 14th February to help the reigning champions, KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg from Poland, secure their place in the Women’s Champions League semifinals.“After the victory, I felt a huge sense of relief that everything went well. I was really nervous before the match. There were a couple of her short balls, where I had to rush forward, and I thought, ‘Oh dear…’ But once I managed to reach those balls, I gained more confidence, and then everything just flowed. I’m really happy about the win and about being part of the Europe Top 16,” said HAN. Darko JORGIC of Slovenia – Eduaro IONESCU of Romania 3-2 (18-20, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6) Two clubmates from 1. FC Saarbrücken TT, Darko JORGIC and Eduaro IONESCU, pushed each other to their limits in an intense clash from the very beginning. The reigning champion faced a great challenge on his way to setting an absolute record with four consecutive titles at the Top 16. Coming back from a back injury didn’t help JORGIC, although the Slovenian player is no stranger to drama in the opening rounds of the event in previous years. “I had a problem with my back muscle two weeks before the Top 16 and all the important upcoming tournaments. I didn’t train for those two weeks, and you can tell from my performance. I did not feel the table nor the balls. My body is not in the right shape, but I hope it will get better. The physio is doing his job well, and I believe my body will be ready for the challenges,” explained JORGIC. Speaking about his clash with IONESCU, Darko added: “For me, it’s always difficult to play the opening matches in