Quarter-Final line up decided
Women’s Singles Quarter-Finals
Top Half: Ding Ning (China) v Miu Hirano (Japan) , Miyu Kato (Japan) v Liu Shiwen (China)
Lower Half: Wang Manyu (China) v Sun Yingsha (China), Doo Hoi Kem (Hong Kong) v Chen Meng (China)
Doo Hoi Kem brings day to dramatic end
Women’s Singles – Round Four
The first three points in the deciding seventh game lost, a “Time Out” taken; then 6-8 in arrears, Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem, secured the next three points, lost the next to bring matters level at 9-all before securing two in round to beat Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa (11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 4-11, 6-11, 11-9) to cause an upset of note. Kasumi Ishikawa commenced matters the no.5 seed, Doo Hoi Kem the no.11 seed.
Hard earned success for Doo Hoi Kem came after China’s Ding Ning, the top seed, had overcome Korea Republic’s Suh Hyowon, the no.10 seed (11-6, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9).
According to plan
Women’s Singles – Round Four
China asserted authority. Liu Shiwen, the no.4 seed, overcame the defensive skills of DPR Korea’s Kim Song I, the no.13 seed (11-6, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4); in a more testing duel when facing the backspin art, Wang Manyu, the no.3 seed, beat Japan’s Hitomi Sato, the no.12 seed (9-11, 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9).
Similarly, Chen Meng, the no.2 seed, accounted for Singapore’s Feng Tianwei, the no.9 seed (12-10, 11-6, 11-6, 11-13, 11-7), whilst Sun Yingsha, the no.24 seed, ended the hopes of Cga Hyo Sim, the no.61 seed and like Cha Hyo Sim from DPR Korea (11-7, 11-3, 11-3, 11-7.
Meanwhile, flying the flag for Japan, Miu Hirano, the no.8 seed, overcame Hong Kong’s Minnie Soo Wai Yam, the no.30 seed (11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7), Miyu Kato, the no.18 seed, ended the hopes of Chinese Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu, the no.20 seed (11-7, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7).
Once again a medal for Petrissa Solja
Mixed Doubles Quarter-Finals
Bronze medallist two years ago in Düsseldorf when partnering China’s Fang Bo, once again Germany’s Petrissa Solja is guaranteed a mixed doubles medal; she partnered colleague Patrick Franziska to a quarter-final success against Japan’s Masataksa Morizono and Mima Ito, the no.2 seeds and current Japanese national champions (13-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-13, 15-13, 11-8).
However, in the sixth game trailing 6-7, Patrick Franziska heard the big toe of his left foot crack; a medical “Time Out” ensued; the four players returned to the court. Seemingly the odds were now with Japan; quite incredibly the German duo, having been advised by Jörg Rosskopf, lost just one further point to secure the decision.
“Rossi told me not to move, we played wide whenever possible, created angles to reduce my need to move; I took some risks.” Patrick Franziska
“We needed to stay positive, make full use of the table; I think they became nervous.” Petrissa Solja
One Japanese pair beaten, for Patrick Franziska and Petrissa Solja, the no.12 seeds, another such duo awaits; at the semi-final stage they meet Maharu Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa, the no.2 seeds and defending champions. They beat Slovakia’s Lubomir Pistej and Barbora Balazova, the no.7 seeds (6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8) to reserve their place in the penultimate round.
China guaranteed place in mixed final
Mixed Doubles Quarter-Final
Required to qualify Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning will face Chinese national team colleagues, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen, the no.3 seeds, at the semi-final stage of the mixed doubles event.
In contrasting quarter-final contests, Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning beat Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Lee Ho Ching, the no.8 seeds, in four straight games (11-1, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8). Conversely, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen had to recover from a two games to nil deficit against Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee, the no.5 seeds, before emerging successful (10-12, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7)
The youngest ever on hold
Men’s Doubles – Round Three
The most popular question is to whether Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, only 15 years old will become the youngest ever to win a medal at a World Championships. Hopes are still alive in the men’s singles but not in the men’s doubles.
Partnering Yuto Kizukuri, the no.16 seeds, experienced defeat at the hands of China’s Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan, the no.8 seeds (11-6, 11-7, 13-11, 9-11, 11-2).
“We did not have too much pressure during the match Just keep a good mindset. We made some preparations yesterday, mainly on how to find the solution when we meet some problems.” Lin Gaoyuan
Close call
Men’s Doubles – Round Three
Success for Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting, the no.2 seeds but it was a close call in their bid to secure a quarter-final place; they were stretched to the limit by Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Wang Tai-Wei, the no.13 seeds (12-10, 8-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9.
Notably in the same half of the draw Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu, the no.3 seeds, ended the progress of Finnish qualifiers, Alex Naumi and Benedek Olah (11-9, 11-3, 11-9, 11-2). Also in the same half is the Chinese pairing of
Change of fortunes
Men’s Doubles – Round Three
Delight the previous day when ousting Japan’s Masataka Morizono and Yuya Oshima, the top seeds, in close seven games duel (11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 13-15, 6-11, 11-9); one day later for the French combination of Tristan Flore and Emmanuel Lebesson, the no.22 seeds, it was the reverse scenario.
Despite a spirited recovery, they were beaten by Germany’s Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska, the no.11 seeds (11-9, 11-4, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8). In the same half of the draw, Sweden’s Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson, the no.4 seeds, overcame Korea Republic’s Jang Woojin and Park Ganghyeon 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 14-12, 11-5).
Japanese progress
Women’s Doubles – Round Three
Top seeds, Japan’s Hina Hayata and Mima Ito beat Chinese Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu and Cheng I-Ching, the no.27 seeds (11-8, 11-7, 11-2, 11-8) to book their quarter-final place.
Similarly, colleagues Honoka Hashimoto and Hitomi Sato, the no.3 seeds, accounted for Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee and Lee Zion, the no.9 seeds (11-9, 11-8, 12-10, 21-10).
No Suzhou repeat
Women’s Doubles – Round Three
The combination formed Li Jie of the Netherlands and Poland’s Li Qian upset the odds in 2015 in Suzhou to secure bronze medals; in Budapest there will be no repeat. The no.24 seeds suffered a six games defeat at the hands of China’s Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling, the no.3 seeds (8-11, 11-2, 7-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4).
In the same half of the draw, also from China, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, the no. 2 seeds emerged successful. They ended the hopes of the host nation; they beat Dora Madarasz and Szandra Pergel, the no.13 seeds (11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-1).
Latin American continent believes
Men’s Singles – Round Three
Stopped in round three in 2017 when the World Championships were staged in Düsseldorf, but two years later Hugo Calderano has surpassed that feat. The no.7 seed from Brazil accounted for the ever-improving Sathiyan Gnanasekaran by a 4-0 margin (11-6, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9) to set up a Round of 16 meeting with Ma Long.
“I made a good start, I gave him no chances. He’s a good player, he can adapt and he did start to play better but fortunately I was able to stay on top.” Hugo Calderano
Qualifier continues fantastic run
Men’s Singles – Round Three
An Jaehyun remains in the men’s singles race after knocking out another seeded opponent in Budapest: the Korean player came through a difficult battle against no.25 seed Daniel Habesohn in round three but eventually got the job done across six games (10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 12-14, 11-3, 11-4).
Defeated, Xu Xin reacts
Following his shock defeat Xu Xin has reflected on the match:
“I made some errors when carrying out the tactics, especially when I led 8-3 in the fifth game. Simon has always been one of our opponents his playing style is very stable and he played very very aggressively today. He used spins quiet well in this match. There was nothing wrong related to my body condition, it was all because of my mentality.” Xu Xin
XU XIN FALLS!!!
Men’s Singles – Round Three
The crowd are on their feet as France’s Simon Gauzy embraces coach Patrick Chila after claiming a massive upset, eliminating second seed Xu Xin in a breathtaking encounter. Producing some of his finest table tennis to date, an inspired Gauzy fought back from 1-2 down to beat the Chinese penhold specialist 4-2 (11-8, 6-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9) – What a result!
“It is a fantastic win; I am so happy to overcome such an exciting player… I had the advantage. I went deep into his forehand and put pressure on him. He recovered, but I attacked with the backhand and lost the third game really close. Nevertheless, I saw that my tactics were working and that it was only a matter of time before he would start to suffer from the pressure. I came close and kept forcing the same game. The dangerous moment was in the sixth game when I realised I could win. I was 8:3 up and he narrowed the advantage. I was afraid he might start to play riskier, but he was very nervous and could not return to the game.” Simon Gauzy
Falck and Boll prevail
Men’s Singles – Round Three
Sweden’s Mattias Falck moves through to the last 16 of the men’s singles following a dominant performance against Portuguese opponent Tiago Apolonia (11-6, 11-4, 11-5, 11-8).
“A good service and return game is always an essential part of victory; with a good forehand, I imposed control. It gave me an opportunity to control the match and to be aggressive. Mattias Falck
Journey ends for Nigerian star
Men’s Singles – Round Three
Quadri Aruna won’t be playing any further part in the men’s singles event after the Nigerian’s progress was halted by top seed Fan Zhendong (12-10, 11-2, 11-6, 11-9).
“It was a very difficult match and he was a much better player than me. I was just hoping that if I could win the first set then maybe I could be able to play more and more. But immediately he won the first set. Fan Zhendong was not himself but… he started dictating the match. Even in the last set, I was leading 8-5 and he caught up with me to win and that showed he is a better player than me. For me this tournament is another best competition in my career because I had never made it to the Round of 32 at the World Championships. So, getting to this stage is another milestone for me. I hope to do much better in future!” Quadri Aruna
Pros speak Hungarian
Find out which pros are masters of the Hungarian language and which players need a little more practise:
Mature display
Men’s Singles – Round Three
While we’ve witnessed a couple of major upsets back-to-back that was not the situation that unfolded when Tomokazu Harimoto met Marcos Freitas. Showing great maturity throughout the match no.4 seed Harimoto posted a convincing 4-0 victory over his Portuguese rival (11-8, 14-12, 11-7, 11-7).
OVTCHAROV IS OUT!!!
Men’s Singles – Round Three
What a match! Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov has been eliminated in round three of the men’s singles draw after suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar. Trailing 2-3 in a breathtaking contest Pucar, seeded 50th, showed great courage in games six and seven to defy all the odds, ending the no.12 seed’s podium ambitions in the process (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 2-11, 11-5, 11-7).
“I had great help from Andrej Gacina. He played against Ovtcharov many times before so he wrote me a few tips; I watched his matches on YouTube and set up a few good tactics with my coach. I was well prepared.” Tomislav Pucar
Timo Boll, saving strength
Men’s Singles – Round Three
A controlled performance, never in serious danger, Germany’s Timo Boll beat Japan’s Masataka Morizono in four straight games (11-3, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8)
“It was really good this time. I felt comfortable but to be honest, I need it. I am not as fast as I used to be and a good backhand saves me from a lot of running. I saved some strength. It is not easy to play against another left hander but my backhand gave me the opportunity to stay there and play strong. I did not come in best of shape here. I lost many important matches in League and Champions League. I needed good matches to rebuild my confidence.” Timo Boll
Korean star stuns Japanese Giant!
Men’s Singles – Round Three
Japanese star Jun Mizutani is out of the men’s singles tournament at the third hurdle following a full distance thriller against Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik: In the deciding seventh game Mizutani saved three match point opportunities but ultimately it wasn’t enough as Jeoung held his nerve (7-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8).
Ma Long wins clash of titans affair
Men’s Singles – Round Three
In a star-studded encounter between two legends of the game it was China’s Ma Long who took the plaudits against Belarus’ Vladimir Samsonov across five games (11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-8) to earn his place in the last 16. Defeat for Samsonov but another highly respectable World Championships performance from the 43-year-old.
Shock or not?
End of the road for Japan’s Mima Ito but was her defeat to Sun Yingsha a shock or not?
Homework complete
Considered in many circles the major threat to Chinese ambitions, having last year beaten Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling, Japan’s Mima Ito, the no.6 seed, was beaten in five games by Sun Yingsha, the no.24 seed (11-6, 11-9, 11-9, 13-15, 11-2). Simply from the defeats of 2018, the Chinese coaches had done their homework.
“I am satisfied with my performance today as I took the match. Ito is now the big threat to China, I just tried to challenge her today. I prepared this match last night. Chinese Table Tennis Association President Liu Guoliang and my coach Li Sun also gave me a lot of advice. It was impossible for me to stay cool. Frankly I was so nervous during the match. I just told myself one word: win. I was preparing the for the match until 11.30 pm last night and wrote down some key points which I needed for today’s match. After that I played two computer games and watched some interesting videos on tiktok before going to sleep. It helped me relax.” Sun Yingsha
“I think Sun Yingsha played really well today. Even she met some difficulties, she carried out the tactics very firmly; this is not easy for a young player. Mima Ito has the strength to compete against Chinese players. She has won many times; her playing style is unique especially in the first three strokes which are powerful” Li Sun (Chinese National Coach)
Reality check for Adriana Diaz
Women’s Singles – Round Three
Setting who new standards in Latin America but for Puerto Rico’s 18 year old Adriana Diaz, the no.26 seed, there was a lesson from the best player in the world.
She was beaten in straight games by highly focused Ding Ning (11-1, 11-8, 11-2, 11-5), the Chinese star giving the young lady the picturesque town of Utuado no time the draw breath.
Miu Hirano tested
Women’s Singles – Round Three
Japan’s Miu Hirano, the no.8 seed, beat Canada’s Zhang Mo, the no.21 seed but she was severely tested; she needed six games to secure victory (11-6, 13-11, 11-13, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4).
“When the match was 2-2 she changed her service and she started pushing me half long; this became difficult for me. I came here with the intention of getting to last the last 16, unfortunately it was a last 32 exit.” Zhang Mo
“At 2-2 I had to change my service and receive as well as my tactics; this really changed the game for me. It was very tough but I was well prepared.” Miu Hirano
Minnie Soo Wai Yam in form
Women’s Singles – Round Three
Hong Kong’s Minnie Soo Wai Yam was very much the player in form; the no.24 seed, she player error free, secure in every department of her play.
She accounted for Romania’s Bernadette Szocs, the no.14 seed, in four straight games (14-12, 14-12, 11-5, 11-6)
Host nation hopes end
Women’s Singles Round Three
Defeat for Dora Madarasz, the no.53 seed, beaten by Singapore’s Feng Tianwei (11-7, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8), ended the hopes of the host nation, Feng Tianwei very much in the comfort zone.
“Yesterday I played two matches, so I felt a bit tired. Today I feel much better. I am getting used to the venue and atmosphere here.” Feng Tianwei
European bronze medallists succeed
Mixed Doubles – Round Three
Germany’s Patrick Franziska and Petrissa Solja, bronze medallists at the Liebherr 2019 European Championships and the no.12 seeds, caused somewhat of an upset. They accounted for Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching, the no.6 seeds (11-9, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-8). Notably two years ago in Düsseldorf, Cheng I-Ching emerged the runner up in partnership with Chien Chen-An.
“Everything comes to small details. It was crucial to maintain a good service and receive game, but also to play fast and aggressive. To keep the ball short.” Patrick Franziska
”More then result I am happy that I can say that our game improved. We have more confidence. This match was not easy at all as the 4-1 result predicts.” Petrissa Solja
Defending champion, national champions progress
Mixed Doubles – Round Three
Defending champions and no.2 seeds, Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa alongside colleagues Masataka Morizono and Mima Ito, the no.4 seeds and reigning national champions, duly advanced but in contrasting fashions.
Maharu Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa had to recover from a two games to one deficit to beat the host nation’s Adam Szudi and Szandra Pergel, the no.13 seeds (5-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 12-10).
“We attacked them, started in good form at the beginning, but they were better.” Szandra Pergel
Rather more comfortably Masataka Morizono and Mima Ito accounted for Korea Republic’s Jang Woojin and Choi Hyojoo, the no.10 seeds (11-7, 11-9, 11-3, 11-6).
Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning relentless
Mixed Doubles – Round Three
China’s Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning continued to progress in an authoritative manner; they beat the French partnership of Tristan Flore and Laura Gasnier in five games (11-6, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5)
“When leading 3-0, we made some mistakes in the fourth game but it did not affect the situation too much. We need to communicate more and get prepared for the next match. Singles and doubles events are both important for Team China. Coaches trust me and give me the chance to play in two events, so I will try my best to fulfill the task.” Fan Zhendong
Day Four action begins
The time has arrived for the proceedings to get underway on Day Four of the Liebherr 2019 World Championships – for detailed information take a look at the fixture schedule below:
Preview Day Four
Take a look at what’s coming your way on Day Four with our quick preview article:
Preview Day Four: Stars to meet in unmissable encounters
Adriana Diaz x TATA Trickshot
Watch Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz show off her amazing trickshot!
