After the male tennis players, it was the female tennis player’s turn to join the first day of the tennis tournament on the grounds of the Park Mladost in Zagreb.
The start of women’s tennis tournament at the European Universities Games was marked by a very interesting match between the University of Coimbra and the University of Mainz, in which the Portuguese players managed to grasp the win. Coimbra thus made their first step in the Group F. The University of Innnsbruck, also playing in the Group F, gained their first win.
The female tennis players from the Zagreb University started the performance on their home field with their first win in the group E, along with the representatives of the New University of Lisbon who also gained a win at the start of the tournament. In the sole matches of the first day, in the groups G and H, which consist of three teams each, the Erasmus University Rotterdam started with a win in the group G, and the University of Bordeaux marked their compelling first step in the group H.
Tennis players from Coimbra played in the tensest match of the day and secured the unassailable lead against Mainz thanks to victories of Claudia Gaspar and Barbara Luz in two singles matches, and celebrated a 2-1 win. The match between Luz and the German representatives Ane Zehetgruber was especially tense. Luz won 6: 7, 6: 4, 6: 3. Gaspar also had a challenging job winning against Nathalie Scherdel with 6:1 and 7:5.
“It is always difficult to play the first match. They are a strong team, we knew it would be hard. I played well, there were ups and downs, but I reached the finish line,” said Gaspar after her performance.
“The weather conditions weren’t so harsh, it is similar in Portugal, and there was also less humidity than the day before,” added the Portuguese player.
Unlike Coimbra, the University of Innsbruck did not have a difficult start in the group F. With three matches and three smooth victories, the Austrian representatives were better than their rivals from the University of Ljubljana.
The University of Zagreb gained a convincing win against the National Technical University of Athens, and the players of the New University of Lisbon, who also play in Group E, celebrated an equally confident win. With the result of 3-0 and a small number of lost games, the girls from Lisbon have proved stronger than the girls from the University of Geneva.
The female tennis players from the Erasmus University Rotterdam celebrated after coming from behind in the first round of Group G, winning 2-1 against the Budapest University of Physical Education. Mercedesz Meiszter earned the first point for the Hungarian team, outplaying Yvette Vlaar 6:1 6:4. However, the Dutch player Blankers Lizette won against Alexandra Tsereteli with 6:3 6:2, and the turnover was complete after the doubles match, which the Dutch team won without losing a set: Iris van Leeuwen and Frederique van de Kroft celebrated against Julius Liptak and Agnes Lorantfy 6:4 6:2.
The University of Bordeaux got off to a well start in Group H with a 3-0 win against the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. After the first step, the French representatives will fight for a new win against the British University of Stirling, who had the first day off.
