After Alex Lanier, Christo and Toma Popov, as well as Arnaud Merkle, managed to qualify for the round of 16 of the European Championships. Full house for the French men’s team! On Wednesday, Arnaud Merkle and the Popov brothers, Christo and Toma, punched their tickets to the round of 16 of the European Championships taking place in Huelva, Spain. They will be four to compete for a spot in the quarterfinals as earlier in the day, Alex Lanier (9th) showed the way by defeating the Swedish Bjorkler (108th worldwide) in two sets (21-15 and 21-16). Like him, his three compatriots also defeated lower-ranked players.
Ranked 36th in the world, Arnaud Merkle asserted his dominance against Markus Barth (193rd). The native of Staffelfelden didn’t need to force his talent against the Norwegian with a two-set victory (21-9, 21-17). The lowest-ranked of the four French players will face Englishman Harry Huang (60th) in the next round.
The Popov brothers in control
Following in the footsteps of the Lebrun brothers in table tennis, the Popov brothers are also in top form in their field. This Wednesday, the eldest, Toma Junior (16th), the runner-up European champion last year, defeated Kian-Yu Oei (160th) in two sets (21-12, 21-11). Thanks to his success against the German, the Frenchman will have the opportunity to advance further in the competition with a quarterfinal to play in case of a win against the Polish Dominik Kwinta (117th).
The highest-ranked of the French players in action this Wednesday, Christo Popov (5th), defeated Czech Dominik Kopriva (249th) in two sets (21-5 and 21-16). He will face Israeli Daniil Dubovenko (68th) for a spot in the European Championships quarterfinals. Note that in the women’s category, Anna Tatranova (World No. 105) will reach the round of 16 thanks to her victory over Finnish Petra Saarnivaara, despite losing the first set (20-22, 21-17, 21-17). It will be a tough match against German Yvonne Li (No. 54) in the next round. The only downside of the day is the elimination of the French pair led by Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante, after their defeat in two sets against the Danish duo Hvid and Klausholm (21-10, 22-20).
