by Blythe Lawrence

Additionally, a mid-match injury to Kristian Karlsson of Sweden and the prowess of Hina Hayata had everyone talking. Here’s how it all happened.

Men’s Singles:

…Austrian standout Daniel Habesohn was the victor in his second round match with Liao Cheng-Ting of Chinese Taipei, the 33-year-old playing well throughout the 4-2 encounter (11-9, 11-2, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-4).

…Romania’s Cristian Pletea emerged as the winner in a battle of the 2018 Youth Olympians with his friend and rival Kanak Jha of the USA. The hard-fought match ended with a narrow 4-3 victory for the Romanian (11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10) who said afterward that having fun was most important to him.

…The host country’s Tomas Tregler reigned victorious in a 4-3 dazzler against Japan’s Kenta Matsudaira, delighting the Czech fans. Tregler started slowly but gained the win by sweeping the final three games (9-11, 6-11, 12-10, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9). 

…Belgium’s Robin Devos, the older brother of Paralympic gold medalist Laurens Devos, will play on following a 4-3 victory against Feng Yi-Hsin of Chinese Taipei (11-7, 11-8, 11-3, 6-11, 8-11, 10-12, 11-7). 

…Slovakia’s Lubomir Pistej surprised his coach (and maybe himself) by defeating the Czech Republic’s Tomas Polansky, his late acceleration making the difference in the 4-2 outcome (6-11, 11-4, 2-11, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11).

…Russia’s Vladimir Sidorenko ejected Sweden’s Jon Persson in a classic youth versus experience pairing. Persson didn’t make it easy, but Sidorenko secured the win nonetheless, 4-3 (7-11, 11-4, 8-11, 6-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-6).

…Portugal’s Marcos Freitas, on a roll lately, continued his success by defeating Croatia’s Wei Shihao 4-1 (11-8, 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9).

…Swedish standout Kristian Karlsson was unable to finish his match against Korea’s Cho Daesong after stumbling and injuring himself during a rally mid-match. Karlsson forfeited the match down 4-2 and has been receiving medical attention

Women’s Singles:

…China was top of the table, with five competitors — Liu Weishan, Mu Zi, Liu Xi, Li Jiayi, Wu Yang and Yang Huijing all advancing in straight games against their opponents. The formidable Mu earned hers by eliminating Korea’s Lee Dasom (14-12, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7). 

…Liu Xi successfully performed the same operation against Mariia Tailakova in the second round (11-9, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7), while Wu needed only four games against Petra Petek (11-7, 11-3, 11-5, 11-6) and later on, against Belarus’s Daria Trigolos (11-6, 11-3, 11-4, 11-5). Liu Weishan capped off her day by winning over the host nation’s Karin Adamkova 4-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-3, 11-1).

…Safely through day one are the host country’s Tamara Tomanova and Nikita Petrovova. They beat Slovakia’s Eva Jurkova and Anelia Lupulesku of Serbia, respectively, each by a score of 4-2. Tomanova’s early lead endured against Jurkova (11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 12-14, 11-2), while Petrovova seesawed awhile with Lupulesku (7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4).

…Tomanova returned in the afternoon to account for Italy’s Giorgia Piccolin 4-3 (11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 4-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9) in preliminary round two. Likewise, Petroviva defeated the Netherlands’ Kim Vermaas 4-0 (12-10, 11-8, 11-5, 12-10). 

…The Czechs’ high hopes for Anna Matejovska and Katerina Tomanovska were dashed by India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee, who ejected Matejovska 4-2 (11-7, 4-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4) and Japan’s Yurika Taira, who dispatched Tomanovska in straight games (11-7, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7). Mukherjee went on to defeat Belgium’s Lisa Lung in straight games (12-10, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7).

…Rising Japanese star Hina Hayata had a good day at the office, accounting for Belarusian Katsiaryna Baravok in straight games to move on as well (11-6, 11-5, 11-3, 11-4).