On March 3, decisive matches in the singles events were held in Belarus.
In the men’s singles event the finalists were Aliaksandr KHANIN and Uladzislau RUKLIATSOU. Opponents met at the recent Belarus U21 Championships, and Aliaksandr won 4:1. The finals of the Belarus Individual Championships turned out more intense.
KHANIN confidently won the first match, 11-1, but lost in the next two ones with the same score of 11-6. He managed to regain the advantage by winning two games in a row 11-9, 11-2. It could have ended in the sixth set, when Aliaksandr led 5-0. But Uladzislau made the score 5-4 and forced the opponent to take time out. After a pause, Uladzislau continued to own the initiative and won 11-8.
There was an equal fight in the decisive game. Aliaksandr had a matchball, but RUKLIATSOU did not flinch and equalized: 10-10. Then there was an incident. Uladzislau had not served. Apparently this misfire of Uladzislau gave Aliaksandr confidence and in the next draw he brought the match to victory: 12-10 in the seventh set and 4: 3 in the match.
Thus, for the second time in his career Aliaksandr KHANIN became the champion of the country in singles event.
After the victory, Aliaksandr noted that Uladzislau RUKLIATSOU began to play better since their last meeting at the National U21 Championships.
In the match for the third place, Pavel PLATONOV beat Gleb SHAMRUK - 4: 1 (11, -7, 9, 5, 7).
In the women's singles Daria TRIGOLOS won. For the first time in her career she became the champion of Belarus in singles events. In the final with a score of 4:1 (6, 5, 4, -8, 10), she beat the multiple champion of the country, Aliaksandra PRIVALOVA.
Daria started the match confidently, she led 3:0 by sets. At the beginning of the fourth set, she gave the initiative to Aliaksandra, and the last one stepped forward 7-2, 9-3. Daria managed to win a few points and make the score 10-8, but PRIVALOVA was not mistaken at the end of this game and won 11-8. In the fifth set, with the score 5-5, Aliaksandra needed a medical time out. After a forced pause, Daria managed to snatch victory in this set 12-10.
Daria TRIGOLOS shared her impressions of the first final won in singles at the Individual Championships of Belarus: «I was a silver medalist three times and I really wanted to win gold, but first of all I tuned in to show everything I can and enjoy from the game. I did it. There was a moment when I thought about winning and my concentration decreased, but I managed to get myself back in the game. In the fourth set, Aliaksandra began to play more stable, held the ball tightly. She began to impose her game, and I just fought back. But then I managed to get back into the game and everything worked out for me».
Difficult was the match for third place for Nadezhda BOGDANOVA and Katsiaryna BARAVOK. It was won with a score of 4: 3 (9, -5, 7, -7, 9, -7, 7) by Nadezhda. The rivals fought in each set and the final was the seventh game, where Nadezhda led 5-2 and forced the opponent to ask a time out. After it, Katsiaryna managed to win one point 3-5, but she failed to build on success. Nadezhda won in this set with a score of 11-7. For her, this bronze medal was the first award in singles events at the National Championships of Belarus.
