France & Germany Reach Women's Semi-Finals In Austria

While the four top-seeded nations eased into men's semi-finals of the 34th European Team Championships in Austria, the final qualifying rounds at the Wellness Park Oberlaa in Vienna saw France and Germany claim unexpected place in the last four of the women's event.

France, the fifth seeds, battled to 3/0 wins over Scotland and Spain in Pool A to set up a semi-final clash with second seeds Netherlands, whose world number one Vanessa Atkinson-led squad took top place in Pool B without dropping a game.

Sixth seeds Germany clinched second place in Pool B after a 2/1 upset over third seeds Ireland, followed by a 2/1 win over seventh seeds Denmark in a closely-fought tie in which all three games lasted over 50 minutes.

Defending women's champions England, the top seeds making a bid to win the European title for a 29th successive time, crushed Scotland in just 51 minutes of playing time - with their north-of-the-border rivals securing just four points in three matches! England take on Germany in the other semi-final.

In the men's event, title-holders England appear on course to meet second seeds France in the final for a record seventh consecutive time. Favourites England maintained their clean sheet throughout the qualifying rounds with 4/0 wins over Spain and Wales to finish at the top of Pool A, while France dropped one match en-route to winning Pool B, beating Germany 4/0 and Netherlands 3/1.

Men's final qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[4] WALES bt [5] SCOTLAND 4-0
Alex Gough bt John White 9-3, 6-9, 9-1, 7-9, 9-6 (96m)
Gavin Jones bt Stuart Crawford 9-2, 9-1, 9-3
David Evans bt Harry Leitch 9-0, 9-1, 9-1
Rob Sutherland bt Alan Clyne 9-3, 9-4, 9-7
[1] ENGLAND bt [8] SPAIN 4-0
James Willstrop bt Borja Golan 10-8, 9-0, 9-4
Peter Nicol bt Alejandro Garbi Caro 9-0, 9-4, 9-2
Lee Beachill bt David Vidal 9-0, 9-0, 9-3
Peter Barker bt Constantino Casas 9-1, 9-1, 9-0
[8] SPAIN bt [5] SCOTLAND 3-1
Borja Golan bt Harry Leitch 9-0, 9-0, 9-2
Alejandro Garbi Caro lost to Alan Clyne 9-7, 4-9, 1-9, 0-9
Albert Codina bt Graham Melvin 9-1, 9-5, 9-7
Constantino Casas bt Jamie Macaulay 9-7, 9-7, 9-0
[1] ENGLAND bt [4] WALES 4-0
Peter Nicol bt Gavin Jones 9-5, 9-5, 9-2
Nick Matthew bt Ricky Davies 9-4, 9-3, 9-1
Lee Beachill bt Jethro Binns 9-6, 9-4, 9-0
Peter Barker bt Rob Sutherland 9-1, 9-0, 9-1
Final positions: 1 England, 2 Wales, 3 Spain, 4 Scotland
Pool B:
[3] NETHERLANDS bt [6] SWEDEN 3-1
Laurens Jan Anjema bt Badr Abdel Aziz 9-3, 9-2, 9-0
Tommy Berden bt Christian Drakenberg 9-5, 9-3, 9-3
Lucas Buit bt Joakim Karlsson 9-2, 9-3, 9-1
Marc Reus lost to Rasmus Hult 9-10, 7-9, 4-9
[2] FRANCE bt [7] GERMANY 4-0
Thierry Lincou bt Simon Rosner 9-4, 9-2, 9-2
Gregory Gaultier bt Stefan Leifels 9-1, 9-3, 9-6
Laurent Elriani bt Andre Haschker 9-2, 9-3, 9-4
Julien Balbo bt Jens Schoor 6-9, 5-9, 9-5, 9-0, 9-3 (95m)
[7] GERMANY bt [6] SWEDEN 4-0
Simon Rosner bt Badr Abdel Aziz 5-9, 9-6, 9-2, 9-4 (75m)
Simon Baker bt Christian Drakenberg 9-6, 9-6, 9-0
Stefan Leifels bt Joakim Karlsson 10-8, 9-5, 9-1
Andre Haschker bt Sebastian Victor 9-0, 9-1, 9-7
[2] FRANCE bt [3] NETHERLANDS 3-1
Thierry Lincou bt Laurens Jan Anjema 9-5, 4-9, 9-5, 3-9, 9-1 (74m)
Gregory Gaultier bt Dylan Bennett 9-2, 9-3, 9-5
Renan Lavigne bt Lucas Buit 9-5, 9-3, 9-1
Laurent Elriani lost to Tom Hoevenaars 7-9, 9-5, 3-9, 1-9
Final positions: 1 France, 2 Netherlands, 3 Germany, 4 Sweden
Pool C:
[17] AUSTRIA bt [24] GIBRALTAR 4-0
Gerhard Schedlbauer bt Anthony Brindle 9-1, 9-0, 9-1
Aqeel Rehman bt Stephen Shacaluga 9-1, 9-4, 9-2
Wolfgang Rothbacher bt Christian Navas 9-2, 9-0, 9-0
Jakob Dirnberger bt Carl Gomez 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
[9] FINLAND bt [16] ISRAEL 4-0
Olli Tuominen bt Ron Levy 9-0, 9-2, 9-3
Matias Tuomi bt Tomer Noach 2-9, 9-4, 9-0, 9-1
Erno Teitti bt Nir Arkin 9-5, 9-3, 9-7
Juha Raumolin bt Nadav Tannen 9-3, 9-7, 9-1
Final positions: 1 Finland, 2 Austria, 3 Israel, 4 Gibraltar
Pool D:
[18] ITALY bt [23] ISLE OF MAN 4-0
Andrea Capella bt David Norman 9-1, 9-3, 9-0
Andrea Torricini bt Robert Smith 9-2, 9-0, 9-0
Matteo Vaccari bt Lyndon Cheetham 9-1, 9-2, 9-3
Domenico Cerabona bt Alister Crossley 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
[10] IRELAND bt [15] BELGIUM 4-0
Liam Kenny bt Steve Dries 9-0, 9-3, 9-4
Derek Ryan bt Rik Smet 9-3, 9-0, 9-7
John Rooney bt Gregory Lecerf 9-1, 9-5, 9-1
Angus Kirkland bt Dave de Beule 9-5, 9-3, 9-3
Final positions: 1 Ireland, 2 Belgium, 3 Italy, 4 Isle of Man
Pool E:
[19] UKRAINE bt [22] TURKEY 3-1
Roman Dolynych lost to Zulfi Kan 9-6, 7-9, 5-9, 2-9
Dmytro Shcherbakov bt Hursit Kara 9-6, 9-7, 9-7
Oleksandr Molodukha bt Selahattin Kara 7-9, 9-4, 9-8, 8-4 ret.
Artem Shandybin bt Gunal Gunsav 9-6, 9-2, 9-1
[11] DENMARK 2 [14] CZECH REPUBLIC 2
Morten W Sorensen lost to Jan Koukal 1-9, 9-7, 9-2, 2-9, 5-9
Mads Korsbjerg lost to Martin Stepan 9-4, 5-9, 1-9, 0-9
Michael Frilund bt Pavel Sladecek 9-7, 9-2, 9-2
Rasmus Nielsen bt Jaroslav Cech 9-0, 9-0, 9-4
Final positions: 1 Denmark, 2 Czech Republic, 3 Ukraine, 4 Turkey
Pool F:
[21] SLOVAKIA bt [20] RUSSIA 3-1
Roman Celler lost to Alexei Severinov 7-9, 5-9, 2-9
Andrej Schmidtmayer bt Roman Fetisov 9-0, 9-1, 9-1
Marek Manik bt Pavel Sergeev 9-4, 9-5, 9-6
Tomas Toth bt Sergey Kostrikin 9-2, 9-5, 9-2
[12] SWITZERLAND 2 [13] HUNGARY 2
Andre Holderegger lost to Mark Krajcsak 5-9, 5-9, 1-9
Marco Datwyler lost to Andras Torok 3-9, 9-7, 1-9, 2-9
Marcel Straub bt Marton Szaboky 9-3, 9-0, 9-1
Nicolas Mueller bt Sandor Fulop 9-4, 9-4, 9-1
Final positions: 1 Switzerland, 2 Hungary, 3 Slovakia, 4 Russia

21st - 24th place play-offs:
[24] GIBRALTAR bt [20] RUSSIA 3-1
Anthony Brindle bt Alexei Severinov 9-3, 9-2, 9-5
Stephen Shacaluga lost to Roman Fetisov 8-10, 9-6, 4-9, 2-9
Christian Navas bt Pavel Sergeev 10-8, 9-4, 9-1
Nicholas de Haro bt Sergey Kostrikin 9-7, 9-0, 8-10, 9-1
[22] TURKEY bt [23] ISLE OF MAN 3-1
Zulfi Kan lost to David Norman 5-9, 9-1, 9-2, 3-9, 1-9
Hursit Kara bt Kevin Watterson 9-10, 9-4, 9-1, 9-4
Selahattin Kara bt Richard Corlett 9-3, 9-1, 9-6
Gunal Gunsav bt Lyndon Cheetham 9-5, 9-1, 9-3

Women's final qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[5] FRANCE bt [4] SCOTLAND 3-0
Isabelle Stoehr bt Frania Gillen-Buchert 9-0, 9-1, 9-1
Camille Serme bt Louise Philip 9-2, 9-5, 9-1
Celia Allamargot bt Lisa McKenna 9-5, 9-5, 9-2
[1] ENGLAND bt [8] SPAIN 3-0
Tania Bailey bt Chantal Moros-Pitarch 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Jenny Duncalf bt Alicia Alvarez 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Linda Elriani bt Laura Alonso 9-1, 9-0, 9-4
[5] FRANCE bt [8] SPAIN 3-0
Isabelle Stoehr bt Chantal Moros-Pitarch 9-0, 9-1, 9-0
Camille Serme bt Elisabet Sado 9-6, 9-4, 9-4
Celia Allamargot bt Laura Alonso 9-4, 9-0, 5-9, 9-3
[1] ENGLAND bt [4] SCOTLAND 3-0
Vicky Botwright bt Frania Gillen-Buchert 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
Tania Bailey bt Lisa McKenna 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
Linda Elriani bt Claire Kidd 9-0, 9-2, 9-0
Final positions: 1 England, 2 France, 3 Scotland, 4 Spain
Pool B:
[6] GERMANY bt [3] IRELAND 2-1
Karin Beriere bt Laura Mylotte 9-5, 9-1, 6-9, 2-9, 10-9
Katharina Witt lost to Aisling Blake 9-2, 3-9, 5-9, 2-9
Kathrin Rohrmueller bt Eleanor Lapthorne 6-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-6
[2] NETHERLANDS bt [7] DENMARK 3-0
Vanessa Atkinson bt Line Hansen 9-0, 9-6, 9-1
Annelize Naude bt Ellen Petersen 9-0, 9-1, 9-0
Margriet Huisman bt Marie-Louise Krag 9-4, 9-2, 9-0
[6] GERMANY bt [7] DENMARK 2-1
Karin Beriere lost to Line Hansen 6-9, 1-9, 9-4, 9-3, 4-9 (52m)
Katharina Witt bt Ellen Petersen 0-9, 9-6, 9-6, 9-6 (55m)
Kathrin Rohrmueller bt Julie Dorn-Jensen 6-9, 9-7, 1-9, 9-5, 9-3 (56m)
[2] NETHERLANDS bt [3] IRELAND 3-0
Vanessa Atkinson bt Laura Mylotte 9-3, 5-3 ret.
Annelize Naude bt Aisling Blake 9-5, 9-3, 9-4
Milja Dorenbos bt Tanya Owens 9-1, 9-1, 9-1
Final positions: 1 Netherlands, 2 Germany, 3 Denmark, 4 Ireland
Pool C:
[9] BELGIUM bt [17] SLOVAKIA 2-1
Charlie de Rycke bt Linda Hruzikova 9-2, 9-1, 9-0
Annabel Romedenne bt Aneta Paprnakova 9-2, 9-1, 9-6
Ankie Nedee lost to Henrieta Loksova 9-4, 2-9, 1-9, 2-9
[12] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [16] WALES 2-1
Zuzana Vackova lost to Tegwen Malik 1-9, 0-9, 0-9
Lucie Fialova bt Jenny Wright 9-2, 2-9, 9-10, 9-7, 9-6 (55m)
Olga Ertlova bt Hannah Wright-Davies 2-9, 9-3, 9-7, 9-3
[9] BELGIUM bt [12] CZECH REPUBLIC 2-1
Charlie de Rycke bt Jana Smeralova 9-2, 9-0, 9-2
Annabel Romedenne bt Zuzana Vackova 9-4, 9-1, 9-7
Julie de Bellefroid lost to Lucie Fialova 9-2, 2-9, 9-4, 3-9, 8-10
[16] WALES bt [13] FINLAND 3-0
Tegwen Malik bt Eevamaria Vuolo 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Jenny Wright bt Elina Kononen 9-2, 10-8, 9-4
Gemma Davies bt Jutta Tuunanen 6-9, 10-8, 9-1, 4-9, 9-7
[13] FINLAND bt [17] SLOVAKIA 2-1
Lotta Vuorela bt Linda Hruzikova 9-6, 9-4, 9-6
Eevamaria Vuolo bt Aneta Paprnakova 9-4, 9-2, 9-5
Jutta Tuunanen lost to Henrieta Loksova 5-9, 9-1, 5-9, 0-9
Final positions: 1 Wales, 2 Czech Republic, 3 Belgium, 4 Finland, 5 Slovakia
Pool D:
[14] ITALY bt [15] NORWAY 3-0
Manuela Manetta bt Lotte Eriksen 9-1, 9-1, 9-6
Sonia Pasteris bt Nina Martinsen 9-5, 9-6, 9-3
Chiara Ferrari bt Maren Myhre 9-2, 9-2, 9-5
[10] SWITZERLAND bt [11] AUSTRIA 3-0
Agnes Muller bt Pamela Pancis 7-9, 9-6, 10-8, 9-6
Gaby Schmohl bt Birgit Coufal 9-5, 9-3, 9-7
Olivia Hauser bt Konny Hofer 9-2, 9-0, 9-0
Final positions: 1 Switzerland, 2 Italy, 3 Austria, 4 Norway