So, more in hope than expectation, Adam and Roman were the first to step on court.
Early signs for Roman were good - the first game was closely contested and Roman took it! The second was also going well, with a solid lead being established. This, however, was as far as the hope could stretch - Ivo came back to take the game 12-10, after which there was nothing to be done - Ivo took the following games, aided by Roman twisting his ankle, to take the win 3:1.
Adam’s opponent also looked as though he could be beaten - unfortunately, not in Adam’s injured state. Unable to impose his usual long rallying, everything comes back, style of play, Yanick’s solid shots took the first game to 5. Despite obvious discomfort, Adam continued for a second game, and continued to show that points could be won, but lack of movement told again - the second game was lost to 6. That was enough for Adam, and rather than risk further injury, he shook hands to concede the match.
Next up was Mark. Having signed up expecting to play at 3, Joel’s withdrawal and Erich’s recent plummeting form had catapulted me to an uncomfortable first position, and a contest with Alex Imhof. Despite some good rallies, some mistakes from Alex and even some decent shots from me, his superior speed and mobility left me with little chance. A well fought, but in the end relatively comfortable 3-0 defeat.
Last up was Erich facing Dario Bösch. Early signs were not too bad, but Dario kept the pace high and was able to chop in back hand drops by the truck load. Nobody had told Dario about Erich’s plan to wear him out, and the reasonably short rallies didn’t help with that either, so in the end Dario was able to take the match in 3.
A valiant effort by a team literally out of their league, but in the end to no avail. 4-0 to Panthers!
14.10.2026 / mr