Pfeifer and Meliss lead Rungg to a point split

The Überetsch ladies quickly fell behind 0:2 in front of their home crowd at the start of the second half of the season against Tennis Beinasco, before Lara Pfeifer initiated the comeback with her sovereign victory in the third singles – Verena Meliss & Julie Struplova secured the draw in the doubles

28 October 2024

From: pm

The ladies of TC Rungg Südtirol Kiku remain undefeated in District 2 of the women's A1 series: during the fourth match day, the first of the second half of the season, the heavily depleted Überetsch team fought for a 2:2 draw against Tennis Beinasco in front of their home crowd and thus extended their lead in the table to two points with two match days to go - due to the defeat of TC Cagliari at AT Verona Falconeri (1:3).

However, the Scaligere's victory also brings the play-out zone within two points - Group 2 of the highest Italian league remains an extremely close affair. As in the first leg, both Verena Meliss and Lara Pfeifer will be playing for the hosts on the clay courts in the Rungger air domes: while the former has to bow to a very solid Jennifer Ruggeri with 6:7(5), 2:6, the latter can take revenge for her narrow three-set defeat three weeks ago against Federica Rossi with a confident 6:3, 6:1.

Lara Pfeifer is in strong form.

In position 1, the South Tyroleans have to face the ailing Czech legionnaire Julie Struplova, who lost to Irina Maria Bara 0:6, 3:6 - so the TCR goes into the doubles match with a 1:2 deficit, where Meliss and Struplova prevail against Giulia Gatto Morticone and Rossi with 7:6(4), 7:5 and, as in Piedmont, secure a 2:2 draw.

Gasbarri's comment

Manuel Gasbarri, technical director of TC Rungg, commented on the match as follows: "A hellish, ultimately unbelievable match day - both for the men and the women. Unfortunately, we have to lament a lot of prominent absences in the ladies' team: Struplova had to grit her teeth and play today in very poor physical condition, and our two homegrown players are not at 100 percent either. We were very short on personnel and would have signed a draw straight away, which, fortunately, is what happened in the end."

The ladies of TC Rungg.

Gasbarri continued: "A big compliment to Lara Pfeifer for her great performance in the singles and also to Verena Meliss, who has now won four out of four doubles matches with three different partners. She is currently making the difference in this league, because we know how important the doubles are in the team competitions - with her flawless record there, she is keeping us in the race, even if we are unfortunately not yet safe. Now we have two very difficult away games ahead of us: I hope that we will have quieter Sundays, but above all I hope that we can get the personnel emergency under control for the women. Whether we will manage this for next week is still unclear at the moment. Certainly a difficult situation for our women, but today's is a golden point."

The ladies of TC Rungg Südtirol Kiku will be playing at TC Cagliari next Sunday, November 3rd, as part of the 5th match day. The first leg ended with a 4-0 home win for the South Tyroleans.

All results at a glance
Serie A1 Women (Circle 2), Matchday #4

TC Rungg Südtirol Kiku – Tennis Beinasco 2:2
Julie Struplova – Irina Maria Bara 0:6, 3:6
Verena Meliss – Jennifer Ruggeri 6:7(5), 2:6
Lara Pfeifer – Federica Rossi 6:3, 6:1
Struplova/Meliss – Giulia Laura Gatto Morticone/Rossi 7:6(4), 7:5

AT Verona Falconeri – TC Cagliari 3:1

Table after 4 match days

1. TC Rungg Südtirol Kiku, 8 points, 11-5 match record
2. AT Verona Falconeri, 6 points, 8-8 match record
3. TC Cagliari, 6 points, 7-9, match record
4. Tennis Beinasco, 2 points, 6-10 match record