Warsaw (Poland) June 26: Swedish Linda Bergstrom had a surprise victory over Romanian Bernadette Szocs in the round of 32 of the 2020 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) European Championships in Warsaw on Friday.
Szocs was believed to be a favorite but Bergstrom needed five games to kill her dreams. The Swede allowed her rival to level the result after winning the opening part, but then she controlled the game to win 4-1.
"She is a tricky player because she has many different styles, she can be aggressive or she can be very calm and play without any spin. I'm very happy I managed to read her game well and adjust my game accordingly," Bergstrom said.
Sofia Polcanova of Austria, who took a bronze medal three years ago in Alicante, Spain, was on the brink but won 4-3 over Romania's Adina Diaconu in a very close match. The 21-year-old led 2-1 but then Polcanova turned the game into her favor.
"It was a very close match and I was prepared for it to be tough because we've played each other several times. She has always shown a good performance against me and I'm really happy that I won," the Austrian commented.
PetrissaSolja, the Olympic medalist from 2016, smashed Tin-Tin Ho from England 4-1, while other German players also met the expectations as Shan Xiaona, Han Ying and Sabine Winter also advanced into the next round.
Source: Xinhua