The MEVZA Men’s Senior Championship officially got underway on Friday in Remerschen, Luxembourg, as the main draw opened following Thursday’s qualification tournament. Teams from across the MEVZA region began their pool stage campaigns, with several favourites making strong starts and a number of closely contested matches highlighting the opening day.
In Pool A, top-seeded Czechs Waber / Jezek opened their campaign with a convincing 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) victory over Croatia’s Bacic / Sos. The second match saw qualifiers Oliva / Kuthan (CZE) continue their impressive run by defeating Israel’s Goldshmid Fisher / Gozlan 2-0 (21-15, 21-17). The final match of the day in the pool brought another surprise, as Oliva / Kuthan remained unbeaten with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) win over Waber / Jezek.
Pool B featured one of the day’s most exciting encounters, with Czech pair Bercik J. / Bercik V. overcoming Hungary’s Pongracz / Goudie in three sets, 2-1 (20-22, 21-12, 15-8). Slovenia’s Jevsnik / Mugerli then defeated hosts Wolff / Pernossi 2-0 (21-16, 21-13) before closing the day with another straight-set victory, 2-0 (21-16, 21-14), against the Czech duo to take control of the pool.
In Pool C, Austria’s Friedl / Schnetzer started with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) victory over Czech qualifiers Polednik / Ruml. Slovakia’s Nemec / Jancok also enjoyed a winning start, defeating Austrian qualifiers Kitzmuller / Holzner 2-0 (21-10, 21-13). The Slovak pair continued their strong form in the evening, beating Friedl / Schnetzer 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) to remain undefeated.
Pool D saw Luxembourg’s Hilbert / Weber defeat Czech qualifiers Tusek / Novotny 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) in the opening match. Czech pair Olsansky / Westphal then recorded a 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) victory over fellow Czechs Votava / Kudrnovsky before completing a perfect day with another straight-set win, 2-0 (21-17, 21-15), against Hilbert / Weber.
The pool stage continues on Saturday morning, with the remaining matches set to determine the quarterfinal line-up before the knockout phase begins later in the day.
