This article first appeared on wsfworldmasters.com
On Monday, participants from almost all age groups taking part in the BETARD WSF World Masters Championships 2022 graced the courts of the Hasta La Vista Club in Wrocław, Poland.
This meant a whopping total of 235 matches played in one day, with the majority of the almost 700 players, in draws ranging from 35+ all the way up till 80+, involved in the action.
We got our first look at the seeded players, while there were some statement wins intertwined with a few upsets.
In the women 35+ draw, top seed and former World No.19 Nicolette Fernandes started her campaign with a strong win against Eva Fertekova in her first group stage outing. In the same draw, Olga Kolarova [3/4 seed] beat Birgit Coufal [3/4 seed] which puts her in pole position to top her group and advance to the medal playoff.
In the men’s 40+ event, there were upsets produced by Poland’s Grzegorz Wójcik, Sweden’s Anders Nelenius and Brazil’s Marcelo Abelheira as they beat 17/32 seeds Gatis Graudums of Latvia, Karel Svoboda of the Czech Republic and RSA’s Phil Louw, respectively.
The seeds fared much better in the men’s 45+ category, where 22 out of 25 matches ended with the seeded players not only winning, but also doing so without dropping a single game.
Spectators at the packed Hasta La Vista Club got their first look at the men’s 50+ top seed and former World No.4 Derek Ryan of Ireland, who came through against Martin Vollack of Germany. The second seed and Ryan’s compatriot, David Ayerst, did his best to show the form he’s in by dropping only three points in his entire match against RSA’s Steven Roux.
Monday was also the first day of action for the most seasoned campaigners: the combined women 65-70+ category and the men’s 80’s category.
In the men’s 80+ category, South Africa’s Robin Kemp beat Nigel Belle [5/8 seed], and in the women’s 65-70+ category, England’s Susan Vine and France’s Claire Bryars beat 5/8 seeds Julianna Weber of Hungary and Elisabeth Keilmann of Germany in straight games.Tuesday promises to be as busy – if not busier – as Monday was with seeded players clashing already in most categories. Matches start at 10:00 AM (GMT+2).
LIVESTREAM:https://www.youtube.com/user/HastaLaVistaWroclaw/videos