Day concludes with another dramatic upset
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
Another rankings upset has come courtesy of Belarus’ Aliaksandr Khanin as the World no.146 accounted for the player positioned at no.38, Japan’s Kazuhiro Yoshimura in straight games (11-9, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5).
Elsewhere, England’s Liam Pitchford proved too strong for Austria’s Andreas Levenko (12-10, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7) while it was Wang Chuqin who beat Yu Ziyang in an all-China contest (11-7, 11-2, 11-6, 12-10).
Kirill Gerassimenko stunned
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
Positioned at no.55 in the men’s world rankings list, Kirill Gerassimenko has just lost out to the player ranked 54 places below him in the rankings table with Japan’s Yuki Hirano needing just four games to see off the Kazakhstan player (11-9, 11-8, 11-6, 3-11, 11-9).
For Austria’s Stefan Fegerl, a 4-0 win over Spanish counterpart Miguel Vilchez to celebrate (11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10).
“I started well in the match and won two games. But then it was scarce. I let the Spaniard close the gap from 10-4 to 10-9… Afterwards, Miguel took advantage of the fact that he had already played a match under these conditions, but I was able to defend a game ball and now I’m in round three. There I will meet Tomislav Pucar, against whom I have a score to settle!” Stefan Fegerl
“Every match is hard to win”
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
Winner of the men’s singles title nine years back on Austrian soil, however, Tiago Apolonia experienced a difficult start to his 2019 Austrian Open outing with Frenchman Alexandre Cassin pushing the Portuguese star in a tight six-game affair (11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-5).
“After winning the first two games, I lost the rhythm of the match. He had his first match in the morning and had more experience with the conditions, but finally I could handle it. Here at this tournament with this quality, every match is hard to win. I am happy to be in the next round. I have very good memories of Austria, having won the 2010 Austrian Open which was one of my biggest moments in my career. I know the city; everything is nice here – except for the currently unpleasant cold!” Tiago Apolonia
Tactical change sees Mihai Bobocica progress
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
Italian competitor Mihai Bobocica has successful come out on top in a close contest with Paraguay’s Marcelo Aguirre (11-8, 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 4-11, 11-6). Here’s what he had to say following the match:
“I was leading 3-0, but I suppose the first three games had been too comfortable. Then I made some bad decisions and put him back into the match. He took next two games and he was getting better and better. In the next game I was also down 1-4, but afterwards I found the right tactics and made some good changes, so I could take seven points in a row to go 8-4 up. I stayed focused and finished 11-6 to reach the next round.” Mihai Bobocica
Diogo Carvalho topples Nigerian king
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
We’ve got another unanticipated departure to update you on as Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna bids his farewells in the preliminary round two of the men’s singles event, losing out to Portugal’s Diogo Carvalho 4-1 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6, 4-11, 11-6).
The other Portuguese player in action during the 5.00pm session, Marcos Freitas also emerged victorious in his encounter with Italy’s Daniele Pinto (11-4, 11-4, 11-3, 11-5).
“A perfect start to the tournament”
Mixed Doubles: Preliminary Round 1
United States’ Kai Zhang and Lily Zhang enjoyed a fantastic start to their mixed doubles journey, beating Turkey’s Abdullah Yigenler and Ozge Yilmaz in straight games (11-2, 13-11, 11-8) and Lily, who’s no stranger to Linz, is hoping for a positive and lengthy campaign in the city:
“A perfect start to the tournament. It is our first outing at the Austrian Open so we are happy to be in the second round. After our victory at the Pan-American Games, this is our second appearance as a pair. We work well! I know the city of Linz, I’ve have had a training camp here. A likable tiny city in which I would like to celebrate some more success.” Lily Zhang
So close but yet so far for brave French pair
Mixed Doubles: Preliminary Round 1
A crazy battle has just unfolded in the 4.20pm session of play with Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An and Chen Szu-Yu edging past the French duo of Tristan Flore and Laura Gasnier by the narrowest of margins on table 1 (12-10, 8-11, 10-12, 14-12, 13-11).
Four additional fixtures required the full five-game distance in preliminary round one of mixed doubles qualification, one of which saw Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs survive a huge scare in their match against Nandor Ecseki and Dora Madarasz of Hungary (3-11, 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9).
Ukraine star falls and a mighty comeback display
Women’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
Ukraine’s Margaryta Pesotska, who was in impressive form at the recent 2019 ITTF Team World Cup in Tokyo, won’t be present in main draw action at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum bet-at-home.com Austrian Open in Linz following a shock 4-3 loss to Japan’s Kyoka Idesawa in the second preliminary qualification round (9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 2-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7).
Seven games were also required to settle the meeting between Japan’s Haruna Ojio and Singapore’s Yu Mengyu with the latter player recovering from 0-3 down to win the contest 4-3 (6-11, 12-14, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7).
Tough session for home favourites
Women’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
The 2.40pm session provided host nation players with plenty of difficult hurdles to overcome with all three Austrians in action suffering defeat.
Yui Hamamoto and Romy Reiter both lost out at the hands of Chinese opposition in Gu Yuting (11-4, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4) and Wang Yidi (11-4, 11-2, 11-5, 11-5) respectively while Amelie Solja’s departure was confirmed by Spain’s Liu Xin (11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-2, 11-9).
Lily cruises, Takahashi needs decider
Women’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
USA’s Lily Zhang continues her sparkling form as she beat Austria’s Liu Yuan in straight games (12-10, 12-10, 11-9, 13-11), displaying her impressive shot making across the table.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi needed the full set of seven games to see of German challenger Chantal Mantz 4-3 (11-9, 3-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5,, 7-11, 11-6), with a crazy pendulum-esque match for fans to enjoy here in Linz.
“This game was a marathon. My body was completely stiff. I came from Tokyo from the Team World Cup and I’m still totally out of time. I made so many unforced errors. I cannot understand what was wrong with me. Luckily, I’m on, I hope I can find my rhythm. Maybe though the mixed doubles competition.” Bruna Takahashi
Kato and Solja progress
Women’s Singles: Preliminary Round 2
Japan’s Miyu Kato had no trouble versus Serbian Sabina Surjan as the Asian won 4-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-2, 11-3) in under 20 minutes.
German Petrissa Solja was equally triumphant against Czech Republic’s Karin Adamkova in straight sets (11-4, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6), showing her class here at TipsArena in Linz.
“It’s a nice feeling to play again in Austria. I had my first professional years at the Club Linz AG Froschberg. I see so many familiar faces here. I am greeted friendly everywhere. I am glad to have won my first game. I tried to make as few mistakes as possible. But she was always dangerous. As soon as I played a ball a bit higher, she scored.” Petrissa Solja
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Mudit surprises Binder, Sun loses out
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round 1
India’s Mudit Dani made a powerful statement of intent as he came back from 0-3 down to beat Austrian Micheal Binder 4-3 (9-11, 9-11, 11-13, 11-7, 14-12, 11-9, 11-9) in a thrilling encounter.
“I started very bad; my legs were not moving well. Also, the ball was slower than I expected. So, I was down by 0-3 in games. Then I changed my tactics, slowed him down and finally it worked out. It is also strange to play in such a big hall, but I am happy to be in the second round.” Mudit Dani
Over at table 2, China’s Sun Wen fell to France’s Abdel-Kader Salifou despite having a 2-0 lead. The French athlete came back strong and hard when he recorded a 4-2 (5-11, 5-11, 11-7, 15-13, 11-4, 12-10) win.
Ho stays sharp against hosts’ favorite
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round 1
Hong Kong China’s Ho Kwan Kit was sharp in his battle with Austrian Thomas Ziller as he beat the home favorite in straight games (11-9, 11-4, 11-6, 11-8).
Czech Republic’s Tomas Konecny upset Japan’s Hibiki Tazoe in a 7-game thriller as he beat the Asian athlete 4-3 (6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-8).
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Liu starts well
Women’s Singles: Preliminary Round 1
China’s Liu Weishan started with aplomb as she won in straight games against Sweden’s Rebecca Muskantor (11-7, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6).
Meanwhile, home hopeful Liu Yuan needed seven games to beat France’s Pauline Chasselin to move on to the next round (11-4, 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 3-11, 11-5).
