Hard-fought NK Padel for Merlijn de Krom
Merlijn de Krom has competed in the final of the 2024 HD U18 Padel National Championship. Merlijn played the first round with partner Jesse Breeuwer, but was replaced by Tygho Schoonus in the following rounds. The Allesvoorpadel talent played a great NK.
Exciting matches for Merlin
Merlin's first match was played in the qualifying round of 16 together with Jesse Breeuwer. The opponents were Tim van Gelder and Charlie Koper. This match was played on Monday, March 25, but was unfortunately lost 3-6 3-6.
The second match was played on Thursday afternoon 28 March at 5pm. Now Merlin played together with Tygho Schoonus. The men played against Pascal Groot and Dirk Reyneveld. ''Losing the first game gave me so much energy to win this one well'' Merlijn told de Krom. And whether they had won the match well. The opponents were played off the padel court 6-0 6-0.
The third game was played against Floris Ekering and Florentijn de Knikker on Friday night, 29 March at 8pm. ''We were still fully in the momentum from the day before'' said Merlijn de Krom. That certainly proved to be true as Merlin and Tygho won 6-1 6-1 over their opponents.
HD U18 semi-final
Then the semi-finals were played on Saturday evening 30 March at 8pm against Thijs de Kroon and Nino Zweers. Merlijn and Tygho won the first set easily with a result of 6-1. The second set, on the other hand, was already a lot more exciting. In the end, this set was won 7-5, taking the talent to the final.
Incredibly exciting final
The final was played on Monday 1 April on the Allesvoorpadel Centre Court against Jorrit Hazebroek and Thomas Panken. All four players were tremendously good and evenly matched. Merlin and Thygho won the first set 7-5. The second set the roles were reversed and the opponents won 7-5. Then the cake was over and unfortunately Merlijn lost 6-2, which meant he just missed out on becoming Dutch champion. I think it's a great pity, because we were so close. This does give me extra motivation to come back twice as strong next year'', says Merlijn de Krom.
Future plans
''I will hopefully finish my vwo this year and then plan to take two gap years to fully focus on padel. I want to do everything I can to become the best at everything,'' says Merlijn de Krom. Would you like to follow Merlijn's career? Then keep an eye on Merlijn de Krom's player blog at www.allesvoorpadel.nl. In this section, we will follow his player career emphatically.
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