Once again Xu Xin is the man
Men’s Singles: Final
Xu Xin has won the men’s singles title for the second year running in Geelong after successfully competing a straight games victory over Wang Chuqin. A time-out called by Wang at 8-7 down in game four, Xu dropped an immediate point with a long serve but there were no further errors from “The Cloudwalker” who came out on top in the next three points to complete the victory (11-6, 11-8, 11-4, 11-8).
Winner in Sapporo and Busan, Xu has now won his third consecutive men’s singles trophy on the ITTF World Tour.
Xu Xin closing in
Men’s Singles: Final
It looks as though Xu Xin might be closing in on another men’s singles title after gaining a commanding 3-0 lead against Wang Chuqin. Taking the opening game 11-6 Xu doubled his advantage with an 11-8 win in game two and was even more impressive in the following game, dropping just four points to his opponent.
Right now it’s one-way traffic but can Wang launch a recovery bid?
Sun Yingsha stuns Queen of Hearts!
Women’s Singles: Final
And she’s done it! Sun Yingsha has beaten “The Queen of Hearts” Ding Ning for the first time, avenging her semifinal defeat from last week’s outing at the 2019 Korea Open in Busan.
Taking game three by a narrow two point margin, Sun went on to gain a 10-8 lead in game four and with it two championships point opportunities – Ding Ning saved one but the no.3 seed couldn’t keep her teenage opponent at bay any longer as Sun hit a powerful forehand down the line to seal the win (11-1, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9).
Blistering start for teenage ace
Women’s Singles: Final
Sun Yingsha is off to a flying start in the women’s singles final: opening with a breathtaking 11-1 win in game one, the 18-year-old has now extended her lead to two games with an 11-9 success in the second. Ding Ning is on the back foot – can she respond?
A Xuperhuman effort for the win!
Men’s Singles: Semifinal
Xu attacked, but Franziska simply refused to crumble. At 9-9 in the seventh game, a jaw-dropping rally favored Franziska, who brought it to match point as Xu stood by stupefied. But this is why they call him Xuperman: looking straight down the barrel of defeat, Xu won the next rally with a sizzling shot to make it 10-10, then took the final two points to deprive Franziska of the final against Wang Chuqin (11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10).
After a relieved, fist-pumping celebration that punctuated the intensity of such a hard-fought match, the Cloudwalker was gracious in victory.
“My opponent really did very very well today. He unleashed all his powers with huge difficulties. I was really hanging there with my whole body weight, by a hair,” Xu said. “I worked really hard. Wang Chuqin has performed very well during this tournament…the final is going to be difficult.”
After singles triumphs in Japan and Korea, can Xu make it three in a row? We’ll find out.
Game on!
Men’s Singles: Semifinal
Down 5-7 in the sixth game, Xu Xin rallied with four points in a row to try to turn the tide. But Franziska wasn’t about to be pushed over so easily, and brought the count back to 9-9 before Xu Xin shut it down to make it 3:3, forcing a seventh game. Franziska shifts into another gear, goes up 3-0 in the seventh before Xu responds in kind. Then they’re at 5-5. You could cut the suspense with a knife in here as the crowd gets heavily involved, cheering each point.
Franziska out in front
Men’s Singles: Semifinal
Patrick Franziska goes up 3-2 against Xu Xin in what is already a victory for the German player, for never has he led against the Cloudwalker at this point in a match. Question is, can he keep it up?
The future is now for Wang Chuqin
Men’s Singles: Semifinal
And Wang Chuqin does it! Despite a break in which he had a trainer examine his left shoulder, Wang continued to resist Ma Long’s sizzling shots and tricky tempo changes, deploying his own fierce backhand to great effect and ultimately taming the Dragon.
Up 3:2 against Ma Long, the 19-year-old was able to stop a late rally by Ma, containing him with calmness while powering through two match points to claim his first ever win against the Chinese team leader. Final verdict: 4:2 (11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8).
“I felt at that time I was still in control of the situation. I had to slow down the tempo and play the next few points calmly,” Wang said of the closeout. “This is my first time to be in a final of a Platinum Tournament. I will do my very best whatever comes.”
The 19-year-old advances to the men’s final, his first in World Tour Platinum play, where he will face either Xu Xin or Patrick Franziska, which is coming up now…
Civil disrespect against The Dictator
Men’s Singles: Semifinal
Ma Long is in form, but Wang Chuqin isn’t giving an inch against his idol either so far. Ma’s devastating forehand is ever-present, but Wang has proven immune to some (though not all) of it. Wang is deploying his wide forehand well — a risky strategy, but one that has been paying off so far. We’re all tied up at 2:2.
Youth vs. experience…
Men’s Singles: Semifinal
…or legend vs. remarkably talented upstart. The Dragon Ma Long takes on Youth Olympic champion Wang Chuqin for a place in the men’s final in Geelong. Who’s going to walk away with it?
Players to the table
Just four fixtures remain to be decided in Geelong, all of which promise to thrill – Take a look at what’s coming your way and make sure to watch along live with itTV:
Final day in Geelong
Before the action gets underway, grab a look at our final day preview:
