France Suffer From Injury Setbacks In Riccione

France, who finished in the top four in both the men's and women's events last year, suffered a major setback on the eve of the 2007 European Team Championships in the Italian resort of Riccione when Gregory Gaultier, Thierry Lincou and Isabelle Stoehr - ranked 4, 5 and 17, respectively, in the world - were forced to withdraw from their nation's squads as a result of injuries.

The French women's team, seeded four, immediately felt the effect in the opening tie in Pool A when they went down 2/1 to fifth seeds Denmark - veteran Dane Ellen Petersen and team-mate Line Hansen beating their opponents in straight games and only fourth string Celia Allamargot salvaging some French glory by beating Denmark's Marie-Louise Feddern 9-5, 9-4, 9-1 in 16 minutes.

The fourth seeds will need to reverse their fortunes in their next tie against Spain, the No8 seeds, in order to keep alive their hopes of maintaining a place in the top eight for the eighth year in a row.

Despite the absence of their two star players, the men's team representing France - runners-up to favourites England for the past seven years - were in impressive form in their opening tie in Pool B against seventh seeds Spain. Long-time French international Renan Lavigne was the inspiration behind the squad's 4/0 win. Leading his team for only the fourth time, the 32-year-old world No33 beat the Spanish top string Borja Golan - ranked 13 places higher - 6-9, 9-7, 2-9, 9-7, 9-3 in 65 minutes.

Team-mates Romain Tenant, Julien Balbo and Jean-Michel Arcucci all recorded straight games wins to give France an unexpectedly healthy start to their 2007 campaign.

England, favourites in both the men's and women's events, cruised to comfortable opening day victories - James Willstrop, Peter Barker, Adrian Grant and Nick Matthew ensuring a 4/0 win over 8th seeds Scotland in the men's event, and Laura-Jane Lengthorn, Vicky Botwright and Alison Waters dropping only nine points in their 3/0 rout of 8th seeds Spain in the women's Pool A tie.

Hosts Italy, seeded 18 in the men's event, delighted local fans at the FIGS National Squash Centre in Riccione by upsetting 15th seeds Austria 4/0. Coached by Englishman Marcus Berrett, the team is looking to break into the top eight for the first time since 2001.

Perhaps the most notable individual achievement was made by Dutch veteran Lucas Buit. Nine-times the champion of his country and now just two months away from his 40th birthday, Buit is making his 21st European Team Championships' appearance for the Netherlands. Playing at second string, Buit defied the odds to beat last month's West of Ireland Open champion John Rooney as the fourth seeds beat fifth seeds Ireland 3/1.

Men's 1st qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[1] ENGLAND bt [8] SCOTLAND 4-0
James Willstrop bt Harry Leitch 9-2, 9-3, 9-0 (34m)
Peter Barker bt Chris Small 9-5, 9-1, 9-3 (33m)
Adrian Grant bt Stuart Crawford 9-2, 9-1, 9-6 (20m)
Nick Matthew bt Alan Clyne 9-1, 9-3, 9-3 (38m)

[4] NETHERLANDS bt [5] IRELAND 3-1
Laurens Jan Anjema bt Liam Kenny 9-3, 9-2, 10-8 (67m)
Tom Hoevenaars bt Arthur Gaskin 9-4, 4-9, 9-5, 9-0 (61m)
Dylan Bennett lost to Derek Ryan 6-9, 7-9, 1-9 (42m)
Lucas Buit bt John Rooney 9-7, 9-5, 9-2 (25m)

Pool B:
[2] FRANCE bt [7] SPAIN 4-0
Renan Lavigne bt Borja Golan 6-9, 9-7, 2-9, 9-7, 9-3 (65m)
Romain Tenant bt Constantino Casas 9-1, 9-2, 9-0 (33m)
Julien Balbo bt Alejandro Garbi Caro 9-4, 9-1, 9-0 (35m)
Jean-Michel Arcucci bt David Vidal 9-6, 9-4, 9-3 (55m)

[3] WALES bt [6] GERMANY 3-1
Alex Gough bt Simon Rosner 9-5, 9-5, 9-0 (25m)
Jethro Binns bt Tim Weber 9-6, 9-2, 9-2 (37m)
Ricky Davies lost to Patrick Gaessler 9-10, 6-9, 1-9 (24m)
David Evans bt Stefan Leifels 9-2, 9-6, 3-9, 9-2 (51m)

Pool C:
[9] SWEDEN bt CROATIA 4-0
Christian Drakenberg bt Domagoj Spoljar 9-0, 9-3, 9-0 (15m)
Sebastian Victor bt Oliver Vugrek 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (15m)
Rasmus Hult bt Marko Milek 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (15m)
Gustav Detter bt Robert Petrovic 9-1, 9-1, 9-1 (20m)

[17] ISRAEL bt NORWAY 3-1
Ilan Oren bt Hans-Olav Torgersen 9-4, 9-5, 9-0 (25m)
Nadav Tannen bt Rashid Younis 7-9, 5-9, 9-2, 9-5, 9-5 (43m)
Art Gitelband lost to Patrick Hansen 5-9, 8-10, 2-9 (20m)
Nadav Wilensky bt Kristian Solhave 9-5, 9-4, 9-6 (20m)

[9] SWEDEN bt NORWAY 4-0
Badr Abdel Aziz bt Hans-Olav Torgersen 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (15m)
Rasmus Hult bt Rashid Younis 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (15m)
Gustav Detter bt Patrick Hansen 9-3, 9-1, 9-0 (20m)
Christian Drakenberg bt Kristian Solhave 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
(20m)

[16] CZECH REPUBLIC bt CROATIA 4-0
Martin Stepan bt Domagoj Spoljar 0-9, 10-8, 9-7, 9-3 (30m)
Jaroslav Cech bt Oliver Vugrek 9-0, 9-3, 9-0 (15m)
Lukas Jelinek bt Marko Milek 9-3, 9-0, 9-1 (16m)
Pavel Sladecek bt Robert Petrovic 10-8, 9-0, 4-9, 9-2 (26m)

[16] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [17] ISRAEL 4-0
Martin Stepan bt Ilan Oren 5-9, 4-9, 10-8, 9-3, 10-9 (75m)
Jaroslav Cech bt Nadav Tannen 5-9, 9-4, 9-6, 9-4 (48m)
Lukas Jelinek bt Art Gitelband 9-2, 9-0, 10-8 (31m)
Pavel Sladecek bt Nadav Wilensky 4-9, 9-10, 9-0, 9-2, 9-0 (46m)

Pool D:
[18] ITALY bt [23] ISLE OF MAN 4-0
Andrea Capella bt David Norman 9-4, 9-1, 9-1 (21m)
Domenico Cerabona bt David Hedley 9-1, 9-6, 9-0 (28m)
Matteo Vaccari bt Alister Crossley 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 (14m)
Andrea Torricini bt Kevin Watterson 9-1, 9-0, 9-3 (25m)

[10] DENMARK bt LATVIA 4-0
Rasmus Nielsen bt Alexander Pavulans 9-0, 9-7, 9-0 (24m)
Kristian Frost Olesen bt Gunars Prizevoits 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 (16m)
Kasper Gross Jeppesen bt Andris Lapins 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (15m)
Michael Frilund bt Arnis Tihvinskis 9-2, 9-2, 9-3 (29m)

[10] DENMARK bt [23] ISLE OF MAN 4-0
Morten W Sorensen bt David Norman 9-7, 9-2, 9-2 (34m)
Rene Jepsen bt Alister Crossley 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (16m)
Kristian Frost Olesen bt Lyndon Cheetham 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 (22m)
Kasper Gross Jeppesen bt Robert Smith 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (16m)

[15] AUSTRIA bt LATVIA 4-0
Aqeel Rehman bt Alexander Pavulans 9-3, 3-9, 1-9, 9-3, 9-5 (21m)
Stefan Brauneis bt Kaspars Purgailis 9-0, 9-3, 9-2 (20m)
Andreas Freudensprung bt Gunars Prizevoits 9-1, 9-1, 9-0 (21m)
Jakob Dirnberger bt Andris Lapins 9-1, 9-2, 9-1 (23m)

[18] ITALY bt [15] AUSTRIA 4-0
Simone Rocca bt Aqeel Rehman 9-4, 9-6, 9-2 (53m)
Matteo Vaccari bt Stefan Brauneis 9-5, 10-8, 9-1 (43m)
Andrea Torricini bt Andreas Freudensprung 10-8, 9-6, 9-6 (46m)
Andrea Capella bt Jakob Dirnberger 10-8, 9-0, 9-0 (39m)

Pool E:
[11] SWITZERLAND bt GREECE 4-0
Nicolas Mueller bt Fabian Kalaitzis 9-3, 9-5, 9-6 (28m)
Marcel Straub bt Konstantinos Kargiotis 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (11m)
Marco Datwyler bt Leonidas Tzakos 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (13m)
John Williams bt Petros Tzamaloukas 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (24m)

[19] SLOVAKIA bt [22] RUSSIA 4-0
Marek Manik bt Alexei Severinov 9-3, 9-5, 9-0 (30m)
Robert Dobai bt Sergey Kostrikin 9-2, 9-7, 9-4 (20m)
Marek Zvoncek bt Viacheslav Perfiliev 9-2, 9-2, 9-3 (30m)
Thomas Toth bt Roman Fetisov 9-3, 9-5, 9-0 (18m)

[11] SWITZERLAND bt [22] RUSSIA 4-0
Andre Holderegger bt Alexei Severinov 9-3, 9-3, 9-2 (20m)
Kevin Villiger bt Maxim Shokin 9-0, 9-2, 9-0 (16m)
Marcel Straub bt Andrey Bratter 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (12m)
Marco Datwyler bt Roman Fetisov 9-1, 9-2, 9-0 (18m)

[14] HUNGARY bt GREECE 4-0
Mark Krajcsak bt Fabian Kalaitzis 9-0, 9-3, 9-0 (25m)
Daniel Cseffalvay bt George Vafakos 9-3, 9-5, 9-1 (27m)
Marton Szaboky bt Leonidas Tzakos 9-4, 9-1, 9-0 (20m)
Sandor Fulop bt Petros Tzamaloukas 9-1, 9-0, 9-3 (31m)

[14] HUNGARY drew with [19] SLOVAKIA 2-2
Mark Krajcsak bt Marek Manik 9-1, 9-4, 9-0 (32m)
Daniel Cseffalvay lost to Robert Dobai 3-9, 9-6, 9-6, 4-9, 5-9 (62m)
Marton Szaboky lost to Marek Zvoncek 7-9, 7-9, 9-3, 6-9 (61m)
Sandor Fulop bt Thomas Toth 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 (24m)

Pool F:
[12] FINLAND bt [21] GIBRALTAR 4-0
Olli Tuominen bt Anthony Brindle 9-3, 9-0, 9-0 (22m)
Mika Monto bt Mark Tewkesbury 9-1, 9-0, 9-2 (20m)
Erno Teitti bt Christian Navas 9-0, 9-2, 9-1 (22m)
Matias Tuomi bt Stephen Shacaluga 9-0, 9-1, 9-0 (14m)

[13] BELGIUM bt [20] UKRAINE 4-0
Wim van Asten bt Dmytro Shcherbakov 9-1, 9-5, 9-1 (21m)
Mats Raemen bt Artem Shandybin 9-6, 9-0, 8-10, 9-0 (36m)
Ben Vandezande bt Oleksandr Molodukha 9-0, 9-0, 9-7 (22m)
Gregory Lecerf bt Roman Dolynych 9-4, 9-2, 9-7 (26m)

[13] BELGIUM bt [21] GIBRALTAR 4-0
Wim van Asten bt Anthony Brindle 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 (20m)
Bart Verhoeven bt Mark Tewkesbury 9-5, 9-6, 9-0 (27m)
Ben Vandezande bt Nicholas de Haro 9-3, 9-2, 9-1 (20m)
Gregory Lecerf bt Stephen Shacaluga 9-0, 9-1, 9-4 (23m)

[12] FINLAND bt [20] UKRAINE 4-0
Olli Tuominen bt Dmytro Shcherbakov 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (17m)
Heikki Kononen bt Artem Shandybin 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 (27m)
Henrik Mustonen bt Oleksandr Molodukha 9-0, 9-1, 9-4 (17m)
Matias Tuomi bt Roman Dolynych 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (15m)

Women's 1st qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[5] DENMARK bt [4] FRANCE 2-1
Marie-Louise Feddern lost to Celia Allamargot 5-9, 4-9, 1-9 (16m)
Line Hansen bt Camille Serme 9-7, 9-4, 9-1 (31m)
Ellen Petersen bt Soraya Renai 9-3, 9-5, 9-0 (23m)

[1] ENGLAND bt [8] SPAIN 3-0
Laura-Jane Lengthorn bt Stela Carbonell 9-1, 9-1, 9-2 (20m)
Vicky Botwright bt Alicia Alvarez Riaza 9-1, 9-1, 9-1 (17m)
Alison Waters bt Laura Alonso Perez 9-0, 9-1, 9-1 (13m)

Pool B:
[2] NETHERLANDS bt [7] SWITZERLAND 3-0
Margriet Huisman bt Gabriela Hegi 7-9, 9-0, 9-2, 9-2 (31m)
Vanessa Atkinson bt Gaby Schmohl 9-2, 9-3, 9-2 (26m)
Annelize Naude bt Olivia Hauser 9-3, 9-3, 9-0 (24m)

[3] GERMANY bt [6] CZECH REPUBLIC 3-0
Carola Weiss bt Hana Vagnerova 9-5, 9-2, 9-0 (20m)
Kathrin Rohrmueller bt Zuzana Vackova 9-4, 9-5, 9-4 (25m)
Katharina Witt bt Jana Smeralova 9-6, 9-3, 9-2 (23m)

Pool C:
[9] WALES bt [17] SLOVAKIA 2-1
Natalie Pritchard bt Henrieta Loksova 9-4, 9-0, 9-2 (23m)
Karen Leach bt Aneta Paprnakova 9-6, 9-2, 9-0 (20m)
Jenny Wright lost to Linda Hruzikova 4-9, 2-9, 9-7, 9-6, 6-9 (64m)

[13] BELGIUM bt [16] NORWAY 3-0
Kim Hannes-Teunen bt Maren Myhre 9-4, 9-0, 9-2 (18m)
Charlie de Rycke bt Lotte Eriksen 6-9, 9-4, 9-6, 9-5 (45m)
Annabel Romedenne bt Nina Martinsen 9-0, 9-5, 9-2 (19m)

[9] WALES bt [16] NORWAY 3-0
Natalie Pritchard bt Maren Myhre 9-2, 9-0, 9-1 (21m)
Karen Leach bt Lotte Eriksen 9-2, 9-6, 10-8 (20m)
Jenny Wright bt Nina Martinsen 9-2, 9-4, 9-1 (20m)

[17] SLOVAKIA bt [12] SCOTLAND 2-1
Henrieta Loksova bt Lisa Aitken 3-9, 9-5, 9-1, 9-6 (35m)
Aneta Paprnakova lost to Claire Kidd 9-10, 4-9, 9-7, 3-9 (48m)
Linda Hruzikova bt Frania Gillen-Buchert 9-2, 9-5, 2-9, 6-9, 9-7 (63m)

[13] BELGIUM bt [12] SCOTLAND 3-0
Kim Hannes-Teunen bt Lisa McKenna 7-9, 9-3, 9-4, 9-3 (37m)
Charlie de Rycke bt Frania Gillen-Buchert 9-5, 1-9, 9-2, 9-4 (34m)
Annabel Romedenne bt Lisa Aitken 3-9, 9-3, 9-0, 9-3 (30m)

Pool D:
[14] AUSTRIA bt [15] FINLAND 3-0
Bettina Greslehner bt Eevamaria Vuolo 10-8, 9-6, 9-1 (28m)
Pamela Pancis bt Jutta Tuunanen 10-8, 10-8, 9-3 (24m)
Birgit Coufal bt Elina Kononen 7-9, 9-3, 9-1, 9-6 (34m)

[10] IRELAND bt RUSSIA 3-0
Zoe Barr bt Alina Tuzlukova 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (12m)
Madeline Perry bt Ekatarina Glinchikova 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 (15m)
Aisling Blake bt Irina Assal 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 (22m)

[10] IRELAND bt [15] FINLAND 3-0
Laura Mylotte bt Saara Valtola 9-3, 9-1, 9-5 (20m)
Madeline Perry bt Jutta Tuunanen 9-2, 9-2, 9-3 (21m)
Aisling Blake bt Elina Kononen 9-3, 9-2, 7-9, 9-6 (49m)

[11] ITALY bt RUSSIA 3-0
Veronica Favero Camp bt Alina Tuzlukova 9-0, 9-1, 9-0 (10m)
Manuela Manetta bt Ekatarina Glinchikova 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 (18m)
Sonia Pasteris bt Irina Assal 9-8, 9-2, 9-1 (24m)

[11] ITALY bt [14] AUSTRIA 3-0
Veronica Favero Camp bt Theresa Gradnitzer 2-9, 7-9, 9-1, 9-4, 9-0 (47m)
Manuela Manetta bt Birgit Coufal 9-3, 9-2, 9-1 (25m)
Sonia Pasteris bt Bettina Greslehner 9-0, 9-5, 9-2 (22m)