They are close to qualifying after losing by the minimum against the Netherlands (2-3) and after maintaining their chances of victory at all times.
The national team returns to the courts this Saturday at the start of the individual competition.
It couldn’t be. The Spanish team has almost made it to the quarterfinals of the Junior European Championships by losing again by the minimum against the Netherlands (2-3). It was a match that was decided by small details and Spain had a chance to win until the fourth game, the men’s doubles, when the Dutch team saved two match points and won, making it 3-1 which confirmed their classification.
In this way, Spain concludes its participation in this first phase of the European Championships with a balance of a victory against Austria (5-0) and two defeats, yesterday against England (2-3) and today against Countries Low for the same result.
A very even matchup
Spain has started on the right foot, winning with authority in the mixed doubles. And Carmen Jiménez and Adolfo López played a very serious match to beat Joep Strooper and Sterre Bang 21-16 and 21-19 in 30 minutes.
Much more disputed was the next duel, the men’s singles featuring Ramón Rovira and Mats Duwel. The Dutchman dominated the first set, in which Rovira maintained his chances of winning it, as he managed to come back from 16-20 to 20-20. Of course, the Ibizan player was unable to finish the job and ended up losing 20-22. Rovira, pushed by the rest of the team and ‘his’ crowd, took control in the second set, winning 21-12, and began dominating the third game. However, Duwel once again dominated the game until finally winning 21-18.
The Netherlands team has taken the lead on the overall scoreboard thanks to the victory of Flora Wang in the women’s singles, in which she faced Ana Nóvoa. It was a match controlled by Wang, who denied any attempt at a Spanish comeback.
With 1-2 on the scoreboard, the men’s doubles arrived, the first ‘match point’ that Spain had to save, with Jesús de Burgos and Adolfo López playing against Casper Spaans and Joep Strooper. The match started in the best way, with the Spanish winning the first set 21-17, but the Dutch hit back by winning the second set 21-16. The third and final game was the most even, with De Burgos and López fighting for every point. Thus, a heart-stopping ending was reached, in which Spain had two match points (20-18). Finally, Spaans and Strooper have used their experience to even things up (20-20) and have sentenced the match 22-20, thus confirming their classification and the elimination of Spain.
With emotions running high, it has been the turn of the women’s doubles of Carmen Jiménez and Macarena Izquierdo, who have not only overcome the blow of knowing that Spain was eliminated, but have also successfully defeated Sterre Bang and Inger Pithuizen by 21-13 and 21-15, thus putting the final 2-3 on the overall score.
Although this Thursday’s results have not been satisfactory, sports director Arturo Ruiz explained that “we are happy with the players’ performance. At the beginning of the competition they were asked to give their all and they have done so. The final result has not been with us but there has been very important progress in the doubles events against countries that are historically powers in these events and we have fought face to face with them. We are very happy about this and how the players have experienced the competition, working together and being a team. Now it’s time to think about the individual competition.
