European Youth Championships | 21 Jul 2024
MATIUNINA and ARLIA Dominated Under 19 Doubles
Photo: Manfred SCHILLINGS
Newly crowned champions in the Under 19 Girls Doubles event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö are Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine and Nicole ARLIA of Italy. Silver medalists are Zuzanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA of Poland. Bronze medalists are Clea DE STOPPELEIRE and Agathe AVEZOU of France and Mia GRIESEL of Germany and Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania.
No. 2 seeds Zuzanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA had a better start in the final match, but MATIUNINA and ARLIA had already proven they are capable of defeating favorites.
ARLIA said, “It feels amazing to win the title in the European Championships. It's my first time being a champion. After the first set, it was a little complicated, but we kept fighting and we won.”
MATIUNINA added, “I agree. We didn't start the second set well, and they were better, but after that, we finally found a good tactic. Now I am going to prepare for my third final, and I hope I will get a third gold!”
In the semi-final played earlier this morning, Zuzanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA needed only three games to overcome the French pairings Clea DE STOPPELEIRE and Agathe AVEZOU, who were ranked No. 3 in the event.
“We played safe and put the ball on the table. Because we met a defensive player, we had to change our tactic a little. We won this tournament last year and we are looking forward to defending it now,” Anna said.
In the second semi-final, top seeds Mia GRIESEL of Germany and Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania lost to No. 5 seeds MATIUNINA and ARLIA.
MATIUNINA said, “It feels amazing. We had a 2-0 lead, and they started to come back. We also had a match point at 2-1, 11-10, and we lost that game. After that, we decided to take it point by point.”
ARLIA added, “I think it was really important that we won the first two games. In the first one, I also think that we were down 10-7. It's the second competition we play together, so we are very happy.”
Under 19 Girls Doubles semi final
Final
Veronika MATIUNINA Ukraine, Nicole ARLIA Italy - Zuzanna WIELGOS, Anna BRZYSKA Poland 3-1 (6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4)
Semi final
Mia GRIESEL Germany, Bianca MEI ROSU Romania – Veronika MATIUNINA Ukraine, Nicole ARLIA Italy 2-3 (10-12, 10-12, 11-2, 13-11, 5-11)
Clea DE STOPPELEIRE, Agathe AVEZOU France – Zuzanna WIELGOS, Anna BRZYSKA Poland 0-3 (5-11, 8-11, 7-11)
