by Ian Marshall, Editor

Success for Zheng Peifeng, it was success at the first attempt; it was his first ever ITTF World Tour final of any description; for Marcos Freitas, he fell one step short of repeating the success of four years earlier, when he had secured the top prize in Olomouc.

Overall it was a third ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles final for Marcos Freitas, the one previous excursion being in 2011 when experiencing defeat in the title decider in Rio de Janeiro..

Disappointment for Marcos Freitas, for Kasumi Ishikawa it was a reversal of fortunes. One year ago in Olomouc she had been beaten in the final by colleague, Mima Ito; the win this year means that in what is now 14 ITTF World Tour Women’s Singles finals, she has won nine times. Somewhat differently for Wen Jia, who like Zheng Peifeng had to compete in the qualification tournament, it was her fourth such final. The record now reads to wins and two runners up spot.

One step higher for Kasumi Ishikawa, it was somewhat the same for China’s Liu Gaoyang and Zhang Rui in the Women’s Doubles event. One week earlier in the final in Bulgaria they had lost to Kasumi Ishikawa and Mima Ito. In Olomouc they accounted for fellow qualifiers Croatia’s Sun Jiayi and Singapore’s Zeng Jian (11-6, 13-11, 11-2) to secure their first ever ITTF World Tour Women’s Doubles title.

A first four Liu Gaoyang and Zhang Rui; for Patrick Franziska and Jonathan Groth, it was a fourth ITTF World Tour Men’s Doubles title in five finals. The top seeds, they secured the top prize at the expense of Sweden’s Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson, the no.4 seeds (13-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7); for the Swedes, overall it was the third time in four finals they had been runners up in an ITTF World Tour tournament.

Conversely, for Patrick Franziska and Jonathan Groth, it was double celebration; they retained the title won one year ago.