Austria's David Serdaroglu was in impressive form today at the European Table Tennis Championships in Budapest ©ITTF/Richard Kalocsai

Austria’s David Serdaroglu, Greece’s Ioannis Sgouropoulos and Poland’s Tomasz Lewandowski were among the surprise qualifiers for the men’s singles main draw at the European Table Tennis Championships in Budapest as the opening phase concluded today. 

Despite starting the event as the third-highest rated players in their respective groups, all three ended proceedings at Tüskecsarnok Hall in first place.

Currently ranked 324th in the men’s world rankings, Serdaroglu was narrowly beaten 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 by Italy’s Mihai Bobocica yesterday.

He came back fighting today though, defeating Hungary’s Tamas Lakatos 12-10, 11-5, 15-17, 9-11, 14-12, 15-13 to ensure top spot in his group by virtue of having the best games ratio.

Like Serdaroglu, world number 439 Sgouropoulos recovered from defeat on the opening day - 11-8, 14-12, 11-6, 10-12, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6 against Serbia’s Zsolt Peto - to also secure first place on games ratio.

The Greek, who won earlier this year in Croatia on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Junior Circuit, overcame Italy’s Niagol Stoyanov 12-10, 11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-13, 11-6.

Arguably the most impressive performance came from Lewandowski, who is currently listed at number 341 in the men’s world rankings.

Having defeated Romania’s Hunor Szocs 12-10, 13-11, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9 yesterday, he caused another upset today with an 11-4, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 triumph over Czech Republic’s Tomislav Kolarek to seal pole position.

Hungary's Dora Madarasz topped her group with an unbeaten record to the delight of the home crowd ©ITTF/Richard Kalocsai
Hungary's Dora Madarasz topped her group with an unbeaten record to the delight of the home crowd ©ITTF/Richard Kalocsai

Other unexpected group winners were Italy’s Leonardo Mutti and Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic, both of whom started the competition as the second-highest rated players in their respective groups.

World number 188 Mutti, who had caused an shock on the opening day by beating Austria’s Daniel Habesohn 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 13-11, 12-10, rounded off qualification with an 11-8, 12-10, 11-6, 13-11 victory over Estonia’s Vallot Vainula.

Jorgic, ranked 167th in the world, accounted for Gleb Shamruk of Belarus 11-3, 11-8, 12-10, 11-7 having yesterday defied the odds to beat Spain’s Alvaro Robles 14-12, 9-11, 15-13, 13-11, 6-11, 14-12.

Hungary's Szandra Pergel and Dora Madarasz continued their unbeaten runs to reach the women's singles main draw, where they join seeded colleagues Georgina Pota and Petra Lovas.

Pergel beat 15-year-old Ivona Petric of Montenegro 11-4, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8, while Madarasz defeated Latvia’s Inta Zdanovska 11-6, 11-7, 11-6, 11-8.

Also progressing without defeat were Austria’s Li Qiangbing, Lithuania’s Ruta Paskauskiene, Romania’s Camelia Iacob, Spain's Galia Dvorak and Maria Xiao, and Ukraine’s Ganna Gaponova.