The situation in the women’s tennis tournament at the European Universities Games become clearer after the second round was held on Thursday.
Like their male colleagues, female tennis players have entered the final stage of the fight for the quarterfinals on clay courts at Mladost Sports Park. Using the home field advantage, which is always helpful, the University of Zagreb have notched a convincing win in Group E, the Nova University of Lisbon matched Zagreb’s perfect score. The University of Coimbra is sweeping the competition in Group F. The other two groups are topped by Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University of Bordeaux, both with perfect score.
Zagreb claimed their second win in Group E, winning against the University of Geneva with 3-0; the Zagreb team lost only ten games in all three matches. Lisbon Nova was even more convincing in their match with the National Technical University of Athens; the Greeks won only nine games in all three matches in the second round. Such an outcome of both clashes means that the winner of the group will be decided among Zagreb and Nova, who meet in the next round on Friday.
For now, only Coimbra has the perfect score in Group F. The Portuguese did not let their opponents surprise them in the match against the University of Ljubljana, winning 3-0. They will continue to pursue the first place in Group F against the University of Innsbruck in the third round.
The Austrian team lost against the University of Mainz 2-1 on the second day of the tournament. The German women won both singles matches; Nathalie Schredel won in three and Nadine Lang in two sets.
After the second round of Group G, it became clear that Rotterdam qualified to the quarterfinals. Erasmus University brought disappointment to the University of Split and their supporters, as the Dutch won 2-1, snatching the deciding point in the doubles. Blankers Lizette and Yvette Vlaar proved too sharp for Matea Ćurić and Antonela Šušak, overpowering them with 6:3 and 6:1.
In Group H, the University of Bordeaux can start celebrating reaching the quarterfinals. In the match against the University of Stirling, the French bested the team from Great Britain with 2-1, and it was all settled after the singles; Rachel Girard and Lee Tholey defeated their opponents, securing the unattainable 2-0 lead.
Who else will play in the quarterfinals? We’ll get that answer on Friday.
