Facing the promoted Le Mans, Piccolin and his team did not foil during the 8th day of Pro A ladies, thus ending the calendar year on a good note.
Around the table, racket in hand, facing a promoted team, Le Mans, did not seem to be an insurmountable task for Nîmes-Montpellier, a team contending for the play-offs and the Pro A podium at the end of the year.
However, four days after an elimination in the 2nd round of the Women’s Europe Cup, last Sunday at home (Palais des sports PIerre-de-Coubertin in Montpellier), had the Nîmes, mentally, swallowed their disappointment and, physically, recovered?
A full hour and a half and a 3-0 victory later, Nîmes-Montpellier responded in the affirmative. The Nîmes had managed to switch well, thank you for them. The Italian Giorgia Piccolin, who played for the first time as number 1 of the Alliance – the Brazilian Takahashi being injured – put the Alliance on the right track, dismissing (3-1) the experienced Samson Li, 42, former French international.
Rachel Moret comes out at the end of the suspense
Rachel Moret then took her place at the table, whose mission was to imitate her teammate by crossing paths with Sugita. Less well ranked than her opponent, to whom she returned eighteen places (39th against 21st) in the national ranking, the Swiss achieved a “perf”.
In the tightest match of the evening, Moret, who had two match points (one in the 4th set, another in the 5th) and also had to save two, ended up being the strongest, scratching the last set at the end of the suspense (14-12).
With two victories in advance, Nîmes could see it coming. Min Hyung Jee saw the Russian Ekaterina Fischer arrive at the table. A Mancelle without complexes who played her all, even allowing herself the luxury of leading 2 sets to 1 against an Australian-Korean who was then under pressure. But a champion remains a champion; Jee, top 3 in Pro A, in winning percentage, two seasons ago, made his quality prevail.
“Three good matches but it was really hard”, underlines Nîmes coach Florian Habuda
At the end of an unbreathable fifth set, where she led 7-2 before being taken back 8-8, Jee finished the job, 11-9. The cry of relief uttered spoke volumes about the deliverance that was his. ”We played three good matches to win 3-0 but it was really hard”noted Nîmes coach Florian Habuda, who could not dream of a better birthday present.
A big relief, too, for the whole team. ”It really wasn’t easy because we were disappointed with the European Cup and the eliminationnoted the Gard coach. Le Mans had won its last match and arrived here with absolutely nothing to lose.”
A success that the Nîmoises sought from talent and resilience, closing the calendar year wonderfully. In the ranking, Nîmes-Montpellier repositions itself in 4th place, ambush the podium, the objective.
