NICE - The final of the Crystal Kelly tournament in Nice is a duel between Filipos Kasidokostas and Marco Zanetti tonight. The two players met each other earlier in the group stage, when the Italian won by one point (50-49) in nineteen innings. What the young Greek thereafter showed in the group was undoubtedly world class.
His victory against Dick Jaspers, so far the undisputed best player of the tournament, was impressive. The way he still managed to win the match, which seemed already lost, was unbelievable. Kasidokostas made a run of twelve and one inning later, after Jaspers missed his matchbal, the Greek finished with eight.
It was almost a replay of the stunt Kasidokostas realized in the Agipi tournament this year, when he finished in his match with a sparkling run of 21.
Marco Zanetti, however, is in a great form too. The Italian, still haunted by a penalty of fifty points in the world ranking, has been dropped especially therefor to thirteenth place. He shares that position with Lütfi Cenet, with a gap of seventeen points to Jef Philipoom, who has moved up to twelfth place after the European championship in Porto.
Zanetti, the winner of last year in Crystal Kelly, has played a formidable preliminary with victories against Kasidokostas, van Kuijk, Merckx, a loss against Caudron and a victory in the semi-final last night against Torbjörn Blomdahl.
It is an affirmation of his level last month. The Italian won the European Cup with the team by Agipi, showing an excellent form in a difficult phase for the team against Clichy (playing against Nilsson) and Caseta Nova (against Coklu). In those matches Zanetti played brilliant averages.
In the European championship, also played in Porto, Zanetti was eliminated by his teammate Jérémy Agipi Bury after an embarrassing incident with the clock. Zanetti is looking for revenge in Nice tonight and later this week in the World Cup in Porto, but faces in Crystal Kelly an opponent who also is in the winning mood.