by Ian Marshall, Editor

Success for Petrissa Solja, the outcome the total antithesis of one year ago; in the very same venue on the very same date, she had experienced an opening round defeat at the hands of Hungary’s Georgina Pota.

“I was very nervous at the beginning. I did not play at my best. Also, Bernadette knows my service game, she can read my spin. After I lost three games, my coach encouraged me to win at least one game, to play with less pressure. Slowly I returned into the match. I was thinking only about next point. We have played against each other since the cadet days. Who knows how many matches we played in juniors and cadets and mostly in finals. I am happy that we are playing finals as seniors now, that we both are among top European players.” Petrissa Solja

Victory for Petrissa Solja, the fourth game won by the minimal two point margin but one in which she did not have to save a match point, came after Austria’s Sofia Polcanova, the top seed, had overcome Poland’s Natalia Partyka, the no.15 seed (7-11, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6).

“In the opening games I could not find the right pace. It took some time before I settled into a rhythm. Natalia was very difficult adversary.” Sofia Polcanova

The win meant she maintained her perfect record. Commencing with the 2013 European Championships in Schwechat it was the fourth time in four meetings on the international stage when Sofia Polcanova had prevailed.

More importantly, alongside Petrissa Solja and Bernadette Szocs she secured her place in the ITTF Women’s World Cup to be staged later in the year in Chengdu, China.