Miu Hirano is out!
Women’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
A day packed with shock departures, we have another one to add to the list with fifth seed Miu Hirano losing out to a familiar face in Japanese teammate Hina Hayata by a convincing 4-0 margin (11-8, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5).
Another standout result came courtesy of another member of the Japanese contingent as Miyuu Kihara stunned Romania’s Bernadette Szocs 4-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4).
World Cup bronze medallist departs
Women’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
Earlier in the day we lost 2019 ITTF Women’s World Cup winner Liu Shiwen from the women’s singles race and now the bronze medallist from that event joins her in the list of round one eliminations in Linz. Seeded eighth, Singapore’s Feng Tianwei was shown the exit by Chinese qualifier Gu Yuting (11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11).
Over on table 1 Sofia Polcanova survived a major scare as the host nation player fought back from 2-3 down to beat Korean opponent Choi Hyojoo 4-3 in one of the tightest matches to date in Linz (13-11, 8-11, 13-11, 9-11, 8-11, 16-14, 12-10).
“It was a breathtaking match! We both played incredibly well today. I often had to adapt my tactics throughout the match, as she always reacted well to the plans I made before. In the end I am very happy to win this match and I’m looking forward to my next match.” Sofia Polcanova
“The atmosphere was great”
Men’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
Simon Gauzy found himself not just up against a worthy adversary in Austrian no. 15 seed Robert Gardos but also the home crowd in Linz, who were throwing their full support behind the latter player. In the end French qualifier Gauzy just about held on in a full distance duel (8-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8).
“The atmosphere was great; the spectators were always fair. However, I’m a professional and I train for this kind of situation, so it didn’t bother me that the crowd was cheering for him. Obviously if you make it through qualification Gardos seems like a good draw, although it was quite tough as he was playing really well today.” Simon Gauzy
Timo Boll through with little difficulty
Men’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
The ever-reliable Timo Boll has successfully advanced from his opening round encounter against Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandr Khanin with the 38-year-old German legend needing just four games to complete the job (11-8, 11-5, 11-9, 11-7).
However, the other German player in action during the 7.10pm session, Patrick Franziska, suffered elimination to Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik (4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9).
Europeans taste defeat
Men’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
Surprise qualifier Benedikt Duda, who knocked out Lee Sangsu in qualifying, is out of the men’s singles race after the German player succumbed to a 4-2 loss at the hands of ninth seed Koki Niwa (11-8, 11-9, 11-5, 4-11, 5-11, 11-6). Meanwhile, Austrian hopeful Daniel Habesohn, seeded 16th, fell to China’s Zhao Zihao in straight games (13-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10).
Another upset in all-China affair
Women’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
Still trying to wrap your head around Qian Tianyi’s huge upset against Liu Shiwen? Well we have another unanticipated result to report with qualifier Wang Yidi beating ninth seed Chen Xingtong 4-2 in another all-China thriller (9-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6).
Elsewhere, there was disappointment for the home crowd as Austria’s very own Liu Jia, 37, lost out to Germany’s Han Ying in straight games (11-8, 11-9, 11-5, 11-3).
“It has definitely been my last match on Austrian ground. Everybody has been so nice to me over the last twenty years, which I appreciate a lot. I love the people. That’s why I’m always so nervous here in Linz, because I want to give something back to the people. It was such a beautiful time. I just want to say THANK YOU!” Liu Jia
Who are you backing?
Patrick Franziska (GER) and Jeoung Youngsik (KOR) are set to meet in a fiery contest at 7.10pm – who are you supporting?
Former winner moves through
Women’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
Champion in 2016, Japan’s Mima Ito is through to the second round of women’s singles action in Linz following a commanding 4-0 win at the expense of Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin (11-9, 14-12, 12-10, 11-5). Here’s what she had to say about her display on the table:
“During the match I got the feeling it was going back and forth all the time. The first three games were tight, but I was able to take it home. Now I’m looking forward to the next match.” Mima Ito
World champion Liu Shiwen is out!!!
Women’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
Would you believe it! 2019 World champion Liu Shiwen has been knocked out at the first hurdle in the women’s singles competition, losing out to qualifier Qian Tianyi in a seven-game thriller.
Down 1-3 on the scorecard, Qian produced an inspirational comeback performance to force a deciding game. Liu held a two-point advantage at the change of ends but it wasn’t enough as Qian went on to claim a historic victory in Linz (8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8).
Defending champion overcomes early scare
Men’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
2018 Austrian Open men’s singles champion, but one year on Liang Jingkun faced a potential round one disappointment in Linz. The sixth seed from China required a comeback display from 0-2 down on his way to a 4-2 victory against Denmark’s Jonathan Groth (8-11, 11-13, 11-6, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9).
There was also an opening round scare for fourth seed Hugo Calderano as the Brazilian was also forced to recover from a deficit in his meeting with Kanak Jha, eventually seeing off the USA representative across six games (11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5).
“It was tough, my opponent has been playing well lately. He has been winning against good players to reach the main draw here. My goal is always to win, of course, but now I’m just focusing on the next match.” Hugo Calderano
Darko Jorgic also gets in on the act
Men’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
While many eyes would have been glued to Liam Pitchford’s head-to-head with Jun Mizutani on table 1, over on table 4 there was another spotlight-stealing performance courtesy of Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic, who condemned no.12 seed Jang Woojin to an opening round exit (11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 14-12, 15-13).
Qualifier Liam Pitchford sends 11th seed home
Men’s Singles: Round One (Last 32)
English star Liam Pitchford, who was forced to negotiate the two-day qualification tournament, has progressed to the last 16 of the men’s singles event in Linz following a thrilling seven-game contest against no.11 seed Jun Mizutani.
Both players produced explosive attacking table tennis while both also showed great defensive capabilities when required. Failing to take game six despite holding two match point opportunities, it would have been easy for Pitchford to lose heart heading into the decider. But, the exact opposite played out as the 26-year-old Englishman dominated his Japanese counterpart in game seven to extend his stay in the competition (8-11, 11-1, 11-2, 9-11, 11-8, 13-15, 11-3).
“I had a bad start and felt a little bit tired so I let him get back into the game. All together my strategy was too predictable. Last year I was in the semi-final, this year I’ve come back and I’m playing well again.” Liam Pitchford
Chen and Cheng check into quarters
Women’s Doubles: Round of 16
Chinese Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu and Cheng Hsien-Tzu blitzed through to the quarter-finals here at the TipsArena in Linz, as they defeated Russians Yana Noskova and Olga Vorobera (11-7, 11-9, 11-9) in a little over 17 minutes.
In the battle of the mixed duos, Slovenia-Czech Republic pairing of Barbora Balazova and Hana Matelova won against the English-Austrian duet of Ho Tin-Tin and Karoline Mischek in straight games (14-12, 11-8, 11-9) displaying some very impressive backhand shots in the process.
Lily and Wu stick to the script
Women’s Doubles: Round of 16
USA’s daring duo of Lily Zhang and Wu Yue were on script as their current form demanded with a swift win over Hong Kong China’s Soo Wai Yam Minnie and Ng Wing Nam (11-6, 11-6, 15-13). Needing just about 24 minutes, the two Americans were in tandem with their powerful serve and responses – something Soo and Ng did not see coming.
“We worked very well as a team today. In advance we watched some videos of our opponents as we had already played against them previously this year.” Lily Zhang
“In our upcoming match against the Japanese pairing our main goal is to win one game.” Wu Yue
Over at table 1, Korea Republican athletes continued their good run in the competition as Jeon Jihee and Shin Yubin beat the mixed pairing of Romania’s Bernadette Szocs and Austrian Sofia Polcanova (11-4, 11-6, 12-10). There were some strong rallies in the match and the scoreline does not do Szocs and Polcanova justice for their fight at the table.
Liang/Lin react
Listen to what the successful Chinese pair of Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan had to say following their victory over Tristan Flore and Emmanuel Lebesson:
Boll/Franziska win domestic thriller, Flore/Lebesson win hearts
Men’s Doubles: Round of 16
The Germans were up against each other as Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska faced off versus Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang in an intense battle where the Boll/Franziska pair came out on top by 3-2 (10-12, 8-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-9). In a match lasting 40 minutes, it was Qiu/Duda who took an early 2-0 lead which was swiftly chopped by their compatriots. Eventually, the final game went the way of the experience of Boll/Franziska’s duet and so did a place in the final 8.
“We were down the whole match, as our opponents put us under a lot of pressure from the very first point on. Fortunately, they couldn’t finish the match in the third and the fifth game, so we were able to “steal” this match from them. We have to improve a lot to stand a chance against our opponents in the upcoming round.” Patrick Franziska
In what would have been the shock of the day, Tristan Flore and Emmanuel Lebesson came so close to upsetting the running order as they lost out to China’s Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan 3-2 (11-9, 10-12, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10), despite having a 2-1 lead going into the fifth game. The French athletes should be proud with their performance as the Chinese got a warning as to what is to come next in the quarter-finals.
The buck stops for Drinkhall/Walker in Linz
Men’s Doubles: Round of 16
Paul Drinkhall was unable to salvage his time here in Linz as he and partner Samuel Walker crashed out of the men’s doubles after losing to Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan (11-9, 11-7, 11-9). The Englishman Drinkhall has now been eliminated from both the singles and doubles events.
For the home nation, four Austrians were to battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals as Robert Gardos and Daniel Habesohn managed to beat Alexander Chen and David Serdaroglu in straight games in a bittersweet win for their compatriots (11-9, 11-6, 12-10).
“At the beginning we lacked focus a little bit. Our opponents started surprisingly well. When we needed the points, we changed our system a little bit. That’s why we won these three tight games.” Daniel Habesohn
Mizutani/Ito in form, Pistej/Balazova less so
Mixed Doubles: Round of 16
Japanese duo Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito were in spectacular form as they blew their Romanian opponents away in a 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-6) win over Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs in just over 16 minutes.
“I’m quite pleased with the result. Of course, we want to win this tournament in mixed doubles. However, our ultimate goal is to achieve a gold medal in Tokyo 2020.” Jun Mizutani
Meanwhile, Slovakians Lubomir Pistej and Barbora Balazova were unable to push the other Korea Republic pair of Cho Daeseong and Shin Yubin, who were in tandem for a swift 15-minute win and progression to the quarter-finals (11-9, 11-5, 11-6).
Koreans progress, Belarusians stun
Mixed Doubles: Round of 16
Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee were immaculate in their win against Germany’s Patrick Franziska and Petrissa Solja, needing the three games to sort out the win (11-3, 13-11, 11-6).
Playing at table 4, Belarus’ Aliaksandr Khanin and Daria Trigolos have stunned Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching in straight games (11-6, 11-6, 11-7). There was little more than gasps coming from the crowd in Linz as this match went down, with the highly favored Lin and Cheng unable to get going at all. This marks a huge win for the dark horses from Belarus in table tennis, who were simply fantastic at the table.
