US momentum still strong
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round Four
The United States has featured prominently in recent weeks on the world table tennis scene with a string of fine performances from the country’s athletes and Kanak Jha continues to ride that wave here in Linz, fighting back from 0-1 down to beat Russia’s Kirill Skachkov (10-12, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8) to a place in the main draw.
Shocks, shocks and more shocks!!!
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round Four
What a way to close out the day! The 5.05pm session saw a number of high profile casualties in the final stretch for men’s singles qualification.
Not only did the high-flying Wang Chuqin suffer defeat at the hands of Zhao Zihao (12-10, 12-7, 12-16, 6-11, 5-11, 6-11, 11-9), Slovenian star Darko Jorgic also impressed after edging to a seven-game win over Brazil’s Gustavo Tsuboi (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 2-11, 11-7) while Benedikt Duda (GER) outclassed Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu 4-2 (11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9).
“I never could beat him, I sometimes lost by far! Now it is going much better. I could read his service better. So, I did not give him easy shots. Last year I was out in the third qualification round. Now I am in the main event. It is amazing!” Benedikt Duda
Cheng Hsien-Tzu overcomes ranking deficit
Women’s Singles: Preliminary Round Four
Ranked 17 positions below her Swedish counterpart in the women’s world rankings list, Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsien-Tzu has defied expectations in the fourth preliminary round of women’s singles action by producing a stunning 4-1 victory over Matilda Ekholm (3-11, 11-9, 11-5, 13-11, 11-8).
There was also a rankings upset in the all-Japanese tie between Miyu Kato, no.21, and Miyuu Kihara, no.52, with the latter player claiming a straight games victory (11-5, 11-9, 11-2, 11-6).
“We are really proud and happy”
The all-Austrian pair of David Serdaroglu and Alexander Chen have given the home crowd something to cheer about after securing their spot in the men’s doubles main event with a 3-2 success against Romanian opponents Ovidiu Ionescu and Hunor Szocs (11-9, 6-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-6).
“We are really proud and happy, it’s the first time we reached the main draw at a Platinum event. Ionescu is known as a strong doubles player and was a silver-medalist at the World Championships. We were well prepared by our coach and found the right tactics, especially returning short to their forehand was the perfect way. In the last game we changed sides at 5-3 and luckily we could take the next points for a comfortable lead. Now we are waiting for an all-Austrian duel with Robert Gardos and Daniel Habesohn – it will be very interesting!” David Serdaroglu
Shock outcome sees Iranian pair through
Men’s Doubles: Preliminary Round One
Nima Alamian and Noshad Alamiyan have booked their place in the men’s doubles main draw following a fantastic showing in their preliminary round one match: Recovering from a slow start the Iranian partnership then upped the anti, winning three of the following four games to knock Sweden’s Anton Kallberg and Truls Moregard out of the competition (9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 10-12, 11-5).
Polish combination fall to surprise defeat
Women’s Doubles: Preliminary Round One
Claiming an early lead in their preliminary round one affair, but the well-versed Polish pair of Natalia Bajor and Natalia Partyka have been eliminated at the hurdle in Linz with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of England’s Tin-Tin Ho and Austria’s very own Karoline Mischek (9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4).
“We are very happy to reach the main draw here in Linz. We played very well from the beginning but lost the first game after leading… But we stayed cool, continued our way and took the next three games quite easily. We are really satisfied with our performance!” Karoline Mischek
Pitchford stays in the hunt, Gauzy cruises through
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round Three
Liam Pitchford managed to do one better than his compatriot Paul Drinkhall, as he secured a spot in the main event by beating Ukraine’s Yaroslav Zhmudenko in straight games (11-1, 11-3, 11-4, 11-8).
France’s Simon Gauzy had a powerful game himself, seeing off Japan’s Yuki Hirano in a feisty 4-1 (11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3) win, needing all of 35 minutes with the Asian being a mighty challenger.
Drinkhall falls the final hurdle
Men’s Singles: Preliminary Round Three
Paul Drinkhall had a tough start to his morning as he lost out against Zhou Yu in a seven-game comeback by the Chinese (101-12, 8-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8) in a match lasting over an hour and two minutes.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Gustavo Tsuboi also did justice to his form as he beat Sweden’s Truls Moregard in stunning fashion, winning 4-1 (11-4, 8-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-8).
“I was favorite, but every opponent here is strong. He has a very fast and varied game. But I was able to defuse the Swedish talent quickly and I am happy to be one round further. I’ve already been here in Austria several times, it’s a good tournament, but the qualification is tough.” Gustavo Tsuboi
Zhang loses out, Yuan wins French domestic
Women’s Singles: Preliminary Round Two
The talk of women’s table tennis these days, USA’s Lily Zhang was unable to continue her good form as she lost out to Gu Yuting of China in straight games (18-16, 11-7, 11-4, 11-6).
Over at table 14, Yuan Jia Nan came out on top against her French compatriot Stephanie Loeuillette, needing just the four games and 30 minutes to secure victory (11-5, 11-9, 15-13, 11-7).
Takahashi involved in thriller
Women’s Singles: Preliminary Round Two
Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi went toe-to-toe with Chile’s Paulina Vega as the two athletes were involved in a seven-game thriller that Takahashi won 4-3 (12-10, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, 11-13, 11-6).
It was a simpler tie for Saki Shibata of Japan who cleared the house against Russia’s Olga Vorobeva, winning 4-1 (11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4) in under 33 minutes.
Who’s got whom at the mixed doubles?
Solja-Franziska start with slight hiccup
Mixed Doubles: Preliminary Round 2
German duo Petrissa Solja and Patrick Franziska needed an extra game to see off Polish pair Marek Badowski and Natalia Bajor in their qualification match here in Linz (11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 11-2).
Over at table 3, China’s Lin Gaoyuan and Zhu Yuling won in straight games against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An and Chen Szu-Yu (11-5, 11-5, 11-3), with three out of the four athletes just coming back from the ITTF Team World Cup.
