Borgar Haug stuns 11th seed Freitas in seven games as Lebrun brothers and Moregard reach Ljubljana last 16

Norway's Borgar Haug produced the biggest shock of the men's singles round of 32 at the European Table Tennis Championships in Ljubljana on Thursday, 15 October, beating Portugal's 11th seed Marcos Freitas 4-3. The top four seeds all survived, though home favourite Darko Jorgic and defending champion Alexis Lebrun each had to recover from two games down.

Haug holds his nerve against Freitas

Haug raced into a 3-1 lead, winning the first two games 11-4 and 11-6 and the fourth 11-4. The experienced Freitas then took control, winning the fifth 11-5 and sixth 11-7 to force a decider, but Haug regrouped to take the seventh 11-7. The Norwegian said afterwards he felt he had made a very strong start to the match. The Portuguese federation confirmed the result and also reported that Joao Geraldo had gone out to 12th seed Tomislav Pucar, who won the deciding game 12-10.

Favourites survive scares

Fourth seed Jorgic, playing in front of a home crowd, trailed Poland's Milosz Redzimski 0-2 before turning the match around. "Apparently, I'm used to drama!" he joked afterwards. Second seed Alexis Lebrun was also two games down against Moldova's Vladislav Ursu before reaching the last 16.

There were no such problems for the top seed. Felix Lebrun beat Croatia's Ivor Ban 4-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-3, 11-7), and third seed Truls Moregard of Sweden also won in straight games against Germany's Andre Bertelsmeier, although the fourth game went to 18-16.

Germany's seventh seed Dang Qiu beat Denmark's Jonathan Groth 4-0, and eighth seed Patrick Franziska beat Slovenia's Deni Kozul by the same score. France's Simon Gauzy came from 0-2 down to beat compatriot Flavien Coton 4-2, and Sweden's sixth seed Anton Kallberg edged Romania's Iulian Chirita 4-2. Benedikt Duda, the fifth seed, also went through, as did Sweden's Kristian Karlsson.

More seven-game drama

Three other matches went the full distance. Finland's Benedek Olah knocked out 14th seed Eduard Ionescu of Romania, winning the decider 11-6, and Sweden's Elias Ranefur came from 2-3 down to beat Evgenii Tikhonov 4-3. Greece's Panagiotis Gionis needed only four games to beat Italy's Matteo Mutti, conceding no more than five points in any game.

Last-16 match-ups confirmed so far

Several round of 16 ties are already set for Friday, 16 October. Pucar meets Franziska, Qiu takes on Gauzy, and Gionis plays Kallberg. Jorgic is also back in action on Friday. Slovenia is six hours behind Malaysia, so afternoon sessions in Ljubljana fall in the Malaysian evening.

Key takeaways

• Borgar Haug beat 11th seed Marcos Freitas 4-3 after leading 3-1.
• Top seeds Felix Lebrun and Truls Moregard won in straight games.
• Darko Jorgic and holder Alexis Lebrun both came back from 0-2 down.
• Olah, Ranefur, Pucar and Haug all won seven-game matches.
• Last-16 ties include Pucar v Franziska, Qiu v Gauzy and Gionis v Kallberg.

FAQ

Who caused the biggest upset in the men's round of 32 in Ljubljana? Norway's Borgar Haug, who beat 11th seed Marcos Freitas of Portugal 4-3.

Did the Lebrun brothers reach the last 16? Yes. Top seed Felix Lebrun won 4-0 against Ivor Ban, and second seed Alexis Lebrun came from two games down against Vladislav Ursu.

What time are matches in Ljubljana in Malaysia time? Ljubljana is six hours behind Malaysia during October, so a 2pm start in Slovenia is 8pm in Malaysia.

Sources: European Table Tennis Union, Portuguese Table Tennis Federation