Defeated three weeks ago in Bruille (4-1), Nice Cavigal TT remains invincible at home but still had to share points with US Fontenay-sous-Bois last night at the Raoul-Dufy hall (3-3) in the D1 championship. The team from Nice, who introduced their latest recruit, Spanish player Jesús Cantero, to their audience, stays in the good lane, chasing Caen TTC. They have almost secured their stay in the league.
From the start, Jesús Cantero found himself facing Konstantinos Papageorgiou, no. 35, by far the strongest man on the match sheet.
For his first evening under his new jersey, he had a lot to do against the Greek. After winning the first set, he lost the next two. He took the lead in the fourth set, gaining six set points. At this stage, unfortunately, he witnessed his opponent’s improbable comeback to win in four sets. A somewhat frustrating end for the Spaniard, who deserved the chance to play a decider.
Much more surprisingly, Marcos Madrid was defeated by Mehdi Bouloussa. After easily winning the first set and narrowly losing the second, the young French player, a member of the French team, did not shake in the following two sets, continuing to produce superb forehands and backhands. The Mexican, despite all his efforts, could do nothing. Fontenay led 2-0.
In this championship, table tennis is primarily a team sport. Nice could then count on Admir Duranspahic. The Bosnian allowed Cavigal to come back to 2-1 by winning against Israeli Omry Ben Ari in three sets. A great match with some very spectacular points.
The break did not stop the momentum of the Azureans. Jesús Cantero indeed won his first match in red and black. The Andalusian dominated Mehdi Bouloussa in three very serious and solid sets. His penhold grip, the effects produced by his short-pimpled rubber, and especially his superb hits were effective, preventing the Parisian from establishing his game. The great machine is launched.
The fifth match was beautiful. Trailing two sets to one by an ever-imperial Konstantinos Papageorgiou, Admir Duranspahic found the strength to equalize and then win at the end of a nearly perfect fifth act. The Nice crowd felt they were on the cusp of victory.
Marcos Madrid returned to the table to face Omry Ben Ari. Hesitant at the start of the evening, the Mexican couldn’t find his usual ease. He tried to take control of the game but made too many mistakes. The Israeli played correctly and took advantage of the situation to lead two sets to zero. In a burst of pride, Marcos narrowly won the third set and gave his all in the fourth but was betrayed by his forehand, unable to prevent Fontenay from securing a draw at Dufy. No doubt he will have better evenings, considering all he has given to Nice in the past eighteen months.
In the eleventh day, in two weeks, Nice will challenge SPO Rouen, one of the favorites for promotion to Pro A, in Upper Normandy. The next match at the Raoul-Dufy hall is scheduled for March 5 with the reception of the Jura team from Morez.
