At the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup, on the final day of play in Montreux, three German players have secured spots in the women’s semifinals. Xiaona SHAN will face Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania, while Ying HAN is set to take on fellow German Sabine WINTER.
In the men’s category, the competition is just as fierce. Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany will face Alexis LEBRUN of France, while Darko JORGIC of Slovenia will clash with Truls MOREGAARD of Sweden for a place in the final.
In addition to securing a place in the semifinals, all players have also booked their tickets to Macao today. The semifinalists in both events have qualified for the World Cup, which will be held from 14th to 22nd May.
You can follow the live stream and results at ETTU TV and the ETTU website.
Pictures are available here on Flickr.
Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania – Linda BERGSTRÖM of Sweden 3-1 (11-13, 12-10, 11-2, 11-8)
Elizabeta SAMARA reached the semifinals of the 2025 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup by overcoming Linda BERGSTRÖM. In her 15th appearance, the Romanian, seeded 5th, who had her best result in 2018 (third place), delivered a superb performance to defeat the 12th-seeded Swede.
“I knew I had chances against Linda. The last time we met was in December last year, and I had a 2-0 lead in games, then 6-1 in the third. At 2-1, I had a 7-2 lead and everything was under control, but somehow I lost my focus and lost that Champions League match. Here, I felt a bit of a scare when I led 10-6 in the opening game, and then she won it. I didn’t want to lose my focus again and repeat that mistake. Linda was undoubtedly playing well, especially tactically, and it’s a different thing when it’s a team match versus a tournament where you’re on your own at the table,” said SAMARA.
Elizabeta explained what also worked in her favor:
“For me, this best-of-five system works just fine. You have to show your best from the beginning. There’s no time for being 0-2 or 0-3 down if you still want to stay in the match. It’s also more exciting for the audience. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself before the start, I just wanted to enjoy the game. Of course, when I saw the draw, I knew I had good chances, even better after Linda beat Nina MITTELHAM, but from now on, I’ll enjoy it even more in the semifinals.”
Ying HAN of Germany – Jieni SHAO of Portugal 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-6)
Ying HAN dominated in her duel against Jieni SHAO. The German player had been long injured and is playing in Montreux with a protected ranking, but it seems that HAN is fully recovered and in great shape now.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be in the semifinals. The draw was quite favorable for me. My opponent generally plays well against defensive players, but she struggles to bring her qualities to the table consistently over an entire match. Now, I’m looking forward to the semifinals. I’ll calmly watch Sabine WINTER’s match against POLCANOVA and keep my fingers crossed for my national teammate,” said HAN.
Alexis LEBRUN of France – Dang QIU of Germany 3-0 (13-11, 12-10, 11-7)
The crowd favorite in Montreux, Alexis LEBRUN, beat Dang QIU in a tight match. The game was much closer than the 3-0 result suggests, and for sure, Alexis gave spectators great joy and excitement.
“I have had many matches recently with Dang, and each one was difficult. The result today does not reflect the game. It wasn’t an easy 3-0. It could have been 3-2, or 3-0 for him. So I am very happy with my performance. This game shows an evolution in my game because I was able to reverse the score against a top player. I’m not used to that,” explained LEBRUN.
The opening two games were on a knife’s edge; it could have gone either way.
“Sometimes it turns well, sometimes not. I made good decisions at the right times. I won important points, tactical points. I’m very happy because I managed my game well, and it paid off in the end.”
Alexis stressed that the support from the crowd made a big impact.
“We are not in France, but I’m still playing at home. That’s great. I hope it will be the same tomorrow.”
Asked about potentially meeting Félix in the semifinals, he joked, “I will go and watch his game to analyze him… because I don’t know him very well. Obviously, I’m his number 1 fan. If we both stand on the podium, it would be amazing. The winner of this game will qualify for the final. I hope I will be the winner. Reaching the semifinals is great, but I’m here to win the title. There are still four games to win, two big games.”
QIU regretted his actions in the second game, where QIU was 6-0 up before losing 10-12.
“Even though I didn’t make any really easy mistakes, I should have won that set. There’s absolutely no excuse. That cost me the match,” said QIU.
Jonathan GROTH of Denmark – Darko JORGIC of Slovenia 1-3 (8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 5-11)
Reigning champion Darko JORGIC seemed less worried than yesterday. A back injury kept him out of the training hall for almost three weeks, and after a shaky start yesterday against Eduardo IONESCU, his performance was much better today as he overcame Jonathan GROTH.
“I’m happy that I reached the semifinals; it was the first goal. At least it takes some pressure off me. However, I am still true to my tradition. I always start the tournament with great difficulties, but later everything falls into place,” explained JORGIC.
Darko continued to talk about the match:
“From the first ball today, I was the old Darko, the one who attacks and plays aggressively. In the third game, I lost a little bit of focus. I played more passively, and he seized the opportunity and won that part. So, from the fourth game, we started the match again. It was a new match, and I began well with 3-0. Two or three years ago, I played against him in the opening round, and it was so difficult. Now, the pressure is higher.”
Pressure in Montreux is something that should already be familiar to the three-time consecutive winner.
“The first time I played here, I reached the final, so from the very beginning, I felt at home. But nevertheless, now the real game starts in the semifinals. No one can escape that pressure.”
Sabine WINTER of Germany – Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria 3-1 (11-3, 6-11, 11-5, 13-11)
Seeded No. 21, Sabine Winter had to go through the qualification phase, building her success in Montreux with wins over Tatiana KUKULKOVA, Rachel MORET, and then Natalia BAJOR, before halting the progress of No. 2 seed Sofia POLCANOVA today.
Changing her style of play and switching to an anti-spin backhand paid off. When asked about her chances against POLCANOVA with her new style, Sabine responded:
“I had thought about it before and saw my chance. But since I didn’t know how she would react to the anti, it was also possible that she could completely destroy me,” said WINTER, who also spoke about her semifinal duel against Ying HAN.
“I’ve beaten Ying a few times before, but with the anti, it will be a completely different game. I will definitely learn something new here. However, I hope we can give the spectators a great match, and that I can at least take a set off Ying.”
Bernadette SZOCS of Romania – Xiaona SHAN of Germany 2-3 (6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11)
After the seed no. 2, POLCANOVA, we saw the early departure of the top seeded Bernadette SZOCS. Bernadette suffered by the hands of Xiaona SHAN.
“Before the fifth game, I told myself, I can’t keep losing these close matches. So, I decided to play boldly right from the start. I’m absolutely thrilled to have won and reached the semifinals for the first time in just my second appearance at the Europe Top 16 Cup. I’m sure this result will give me a huge boost of confidence.”
Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany – Felix LEBRUN of France 3-2 (11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-7)
Following the departure of the women’s top seed, the men’s event was also shaken to its core. Patrick FRANZISKA overcame Felix LEBRUN in a clash of epic proportions. FRANZISKA gave the younger LEBRUN a taste of his own medicine, prevailing in a breathtaking, lightning-fast exchange of rallies to secure victory in five games.
FRANZISKA started strong, dominating the early stages of the match. However, in the third game, LEBRUN found his rhythm and leveled the score. Despite LEBRUN’s spirited comeback and the immense pressure from the roaring, fully packed Omnisports venue in Montreux, FRANZISKA held his nerve.
“In the first two games, I played flawlessly and built up 9-4 and 10-4 leads. I tried to beat him at his own game by being extremely aggressive right from the return. If you don’t do that, he takes you apart,” explained FRANZISKA.
LEBRUN, however, still found a way to fight back.
“In the third and fourth games, I might have dropped my level by two percent, while he increased the sharpness of his shots. In the fifth set, I simply fought for every ball – just like yesterday against Dima. It was an incredibly tough match, and now I’m even more exhausted than I was yesterday,” he admitted.
FRANZISKA also reflected on the significance of the victory: “Matches like these obviously make me better. I’m happy to have proven once again that I can play two matches in a row at this incredibly high level. And the tournament isn’t over yet – now, of course, I want even more.”
Marcos FREITAS of Portugal – Truls MOREGAARD of Sweden 0-3 0-3 (6-11, 10-12, 5-11)
Truls MOREGAARD secured a convincing victory over Marcos FREITAS to advance to the semifinals. The second game proved to be the fiercest battle and turned out to be the decisive moment of the match.
“I played very good table tennis today. I stuck to my tactics, and it worked really well. I stood my ground effectively during the rallies—even though FREITAS is strong in those situations—and I managed to put a lot of pressure on him, which was crucial. The second game was definitely the key to winning this match,” MOREGAARD explained.
Reflecting on his performance, he added, “Honestly, I played quite poorly in the second game and missed some serves—I felt like I was six years old out there. It was a strange feeling, and the energy just wasn’t there. But when it reached 10-9, there was a really bizarre point. Winning that gave me the sense that it was time to close out the match—and I did that really well.”
MOREGAARD is now preparing for another challenge, where he will once again try to deny Darko JORGIC a medal.
“There’s no sense of revenge for me. In my mind, it just means he’s done really well here. He’s a good friend and has played fantastic table tennis here three years in a row. But I’ve also performed really well at this event. I haven’t been far from beating him before, so I believe in myself—and I’ll keep that belief against anyone I face.”
