Michel Martinez (n° 18) won the most prestigious event of the 20th Nice Côte d’Azur Table Tennis Open, the all-categories tournament with a prize of €2,000, on Saturday evening at the Raoul-Dufy hall.
The Angers member and former French international defeated Argentine Liu Song (n° 21, SAG Cestas) 3 sets to 1 in the final, providing a stunning show for the Nice crowd, who remained numerous to applaud the two champions at the end of a first day of the tournament that wrapped up at 11:30 PM.
Imperious throughout the day, Martinez, the No. 1 seed, showcased his experience, technical precision, and exceptional physical qualities. Finalist Liu Song and Dominican Lin Ju (n° 23, SAG Cestas), who reached the quarter-finals, were particularly sharp, with just over six weeks to go before the London Olympic Games, where they will participate for the fifth and fourth time, respectively.
The locals defended well in this event, exemplified by Mexican Marcos Madrid (n° 72), who took a set from Liu Song in the quarter-finals.
In the other events, locals also put on a show, delivering some standout performances.
The show continues all day in the Raoul-Dufy and Eucalyptus gymnasiums. Notably, the women’s all-series and events ranked 5 to n° 50 and 5 to n° 200 will be contested, promising superb exchanges all afternoon. Admission is, of course, free and open to all.
-RESULTS
-All Series Event o Winner: Michel Martinez (n° 18, Vaillante Angers) o Finalist: Liu Song (n° 21, SAG Cestas)
o Semi-finalists: Admir Duranspahic (n° 56, PPC Villeneuve-sur-Lot) and Viatcheslav Krivosheev (n° 82, Bayard Argentan) o Best Azuréens: Marcos Madrid (n° 72, Nice CPC) quarter-finalist; Clément Boilletot (n° 990, Nice CPC), Anthony Géminiani (n° 70, Nice CPC) and Anthony Peretti (n° 104, Nice CPC) reached the round of 16
-Event 5 to n° 100
o Winner: Paul Gauzy (n° 177, SPO Rouen) o Finalist: Nolwen Brosson (n° 223, Roanne LNTT)
o Semi-finalists: Théophile Acloque (n° 763, Levallois Sport) and Pierre Campagnolle (n° 279, Nîmes ASPTT) o Best Azuréens: Idir Khourta (n° 132, AMSL Fréjus) and Benjamin Lambin (20, Le Cannet) quarter-finalists; Swanny Albert (n° 974, Nice CPC) and Jimmy Laurenti (15, O Antibes JLP) reached the round of 16
-Event 5 to n° 700
o Winner: Sami Kherouf (n° 787, Levallois Sport)
o Best Azuréens: Andrea de Rivoyre (n° 769, AMSL Fréjus) semi-finalist; Swanny Albert (n° 974, Nice CPC), Clément Boilletot (n° 990, Nice CPC), and Alexander Zelez (AS Monaco) quarter-finalists
-Event 5 to 17
o Winner: Hu Wei Long (16, Béziers TT) o Best Azuréen: Jean-Jacques Robert (17, Le Cannet) semi-finalist
-Event 5 to 13
o Winner: Dov Djian (12, Nice CPC) o Second-best female Azuréenne: Sanah Lagsir (13, Nice CPC) finalist
-Event 5 to 11 o Winner: Ilias Bourkadi (8, La Semeuse Nice)
-Event 5 to 9
o Winner: Guillaume Alcayde (9, EPC Fayence)
-Event 5 to 7
o Winner: Laurent Aimé (7, O Antibes JLP)
