Koteka the hero as Australia beats Germany

02-Feb-2012 -

Australia beat Germany 2-1 in their second pool match at the inaugural Under 21 World Cup in Chennai on Thursday.

Jamie McErvale lost the opening rubber to Rudi Rohrmuller 10-12, 12-10, 3-11, 8-11, before Sarah Cardwell and Walter Koteka won their matches to secure the tie.

Cardwell downed Annika Wiese 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 before Walter Koteka accounted for Sven Lemmermann 13-11, 11-9, 11-0 in the decider.

Assuming top seed Egypt defeat India later Thursday, the Australians will then play the hosts on Friday to decide who finishes second in the group.

Rod Eyles reports from Chennai:

Jamie McErvale lost to Rudi Rohrmuller in a tough fought four sets.

Sarah Cardwell went on to quickly level the match with a commanding performance over the German number two female player ranked number eight in her country. Sarah was in control from start to finish which quickly took the wind out of the German’s sails going into the final rubber.

Walter Koteka was keen to get on court in the crucial final tie with Sven Lemmermann. The pair had already squared off in the U-19 Boys world junior championships in Equador with the German winning on that occasion 3/0.
Walter took the all important first game in a tough 13/11 encounter. The German, 6 foot 4, in stature looked rocked in the second with Koteka moving him frequently to the front of the court with well thought out working boasts. Koteka seemed to be equally working hard but managed to win a well deserved second 11/9.

Koteka came out of the blocks in the 3rd and did not look back leaving a devastated German behind with a crushing 11/0 win to take Australia closer to a semi-final berth with the host India awaiting them on the following evening.