VERONIKA IVANOVSKAIA of Germany claimed victory at the EPBF St Johann Open on the ladies’ Euro Tour as she defeated Bojana Sarac (Serbia) by 7-3 in the final. It was her first-ever ET title after having come so close last time out in Tallinn where she went down 7-6 to Oliwia Zalewska in the title match. Ranked #18 coming into the tournament, Ivanovskaia will be climbing he rankings once they are recalculated shortly.
It was her third Euro Tour final and Ivanovskaia finally got over the line. She was naturally delighted with her performance.
“It feels incredible. I must say I’m overwhelmed with my emotions. After losing out in Estonia, a very special person – my fiancé and coach – told me that I’m on a very good wave and should just keep doing what I’m doing and always believe in myself and today I think I proved to myself that I have it in me’” she said.
Bojana Sarac｜©EPBF
Ivanovskaia had looked in control throughout the tournament, defeating a string of top players en route to the championship match. Entering the final, she found herself 3-1 down as Sarac asserted herself in the early stages. The German girl got the game back to 3-3 before edging out in front at 4-3.
In the next, Sarac worked her way through the table but lost position going from the 8 to 9. She missed a tricky cut to take the rack and left the 9-ball hanging, allowing Ivanovskaia to take a two-rack lead at 5-3. Sarac took advantage of an illegal break in the next but once again, a poor positional shot from 8 to 9 saw her miss, and worse still, the cue ball scratched.
That left Ivanovskaia on the hill at 6-3. An illegal break from the Serbian girl, though, gave Ivanovskaia an opportunity for victory. The 5 ball though was blocked by the black 8 but a good safety saw her back at the table and she held her nerve to claim her first Euro Tour title.
Ivanovskaia added, “I’m feeling good, I’m playing well and I’m very excited for the future because I believe I’ve found my zone and I feel very comfortable under pressure.”
For the up-and-coming Sarac, it was her second Euro Tour final and second runners-up spot as she lost out in the same venue last year. Despite her obvious disappointment, there are clearly good things in store for her in the future.
“I played good throughout, up until the final. I made a few mistakes that cost me and she played great. I can’t say I felt anything but it was one mistake after the other. I felt good when I started coming back but I missed two 9-balls that I’m not supposed to and that’s pretty much it,” said Sarac.
All the matches can be viewed live by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurot
Final｜©EPBF
Ivanovskaia 贏得首座歐巡賽冠軍
2023 女子歐巡賽第二站今晨在奧地利薩爾斯堡，蓬高地區聖約翰 (St. Johann im Pongau) 的 Alpina Family Spa & Sporthotel 落下帷幕，曾來台參加安麗盃的德國選手 Veronika Ivanovskaia (HOW 豪皮頭) 在決賽中擊敗塞爾維亞新星 Bojana Sarac (Mezz) 拿下冠軍。
Ivanovskaia 連拿兩勝後在勝部資格賽以 7-5 戰勝女子歐巡賽-保加利亞公開賽冠軍，目前女子歐巡賽排名首位的 Eylül Kibaroğlu (土耳其) 晉級最後16強。Ivanovskaia 在單敗淘汰賽首場以 7-4 擊敗 2022 女子歐巡賽-特雷維索公開賽冠軍 Ana Gradisnik (斯洛維尼亞) ，緊接著分別以 7-5 淘汰來自西班牙的 Maria Teresa Ropero 與保加利亞選手 Kristina Zlateva，第三度挺進女子歐巡賽冠軍戰。她決賽的對手是 21歲的塞爾維亞新星 Bojana Sarac，Sarac 在半決賽中擊敗從敗部打上來，一路挺進最後16強地的土耳其好手 Eylül Kibaroğlu。
Ivanovskaia celebrations｜©EPBF
Sarac 在決賽開始後的表現相當不錯，前四局結束取得 3-1 領先，然 Ivanovskaia 很快地將比分追平，並 4-3 反超前領先。在下一局中 Sarac 打進8號球後，母球位置不理想，以致打丟9號球，讓 Ivanovskaia 愉快地取得 5-3 兩局領先。 Ivanovskaia 第九局開球違例 (三顆球衝球規則)，Sarac 上場接手，然而惡夢再次到來，在擊打 8號球做9號球上，母球走位再次跑丟，並且母球最後在兩顆星後落入中袋，自由球情況下 Ivanovskaia 再下一局並取得聽牌。
第十局，Sarac 同樣出現開球違例，Ivanovskaia 上場接手，然而 5號球的位置讓她選擇一顆星灌球帶防守，留下長距離 5號球給對手，Sarac 選擇做安全球，然而安全球的走位並不理想，Ivanovskaia 一鼓作氣解決掉球桌上最後四顆球贏得了第一座女子歐巡賽冠軍。
Ivanovskaia hugs with his brother｜©EPBF
Ivanovskaia 賽後說道: “我感覺我的狀態很不錯，這次比賽的表現也很好，贏球後的那種感覺實在難以言喻! 在愛沙尼亞失利後，我的未婚夫與教練告訴我，我正處在一個很好的狀態之中，應繼續著我自己的訓練內容並要永遠地相信自己，我想今天我證明了我自己做到了! 我感到非常興奮並期待著未來，因為我相信我已找到了自己所屬的狀態，而且現在的我在感到壓力之時，當下的感覺是舒服自在的，與以往有所不同。”