Zhang Yining Secures Women’s Singles Gold
October 29, 2007

Zhang Yining (CHN) Photo Courtesy of ITTF

Courtesy of ITTF China’s Zhang Yining justified her status as the top seed in the Women’s Singles event at the Liebherr Austrian Open in Wels by beating, third seed and national team colleague, Guo Yan in the final. The reigning Olympic champion had never been seriously threatened on her way to the final, she had not dropped one single game, while for Guo Yan, it had been slightly different. No great problems until the semis but then her penultimate round victory over Wang Nan was a contest that went the full seven games distance.

In the final Zhang Yining retained the form that she had shown throughout the Women’s Singles event. She won in five games.

Zhang Yining succeeded 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9.

Confident
“I am very happy about my victory and played very well; what makes me really happy is that I managed to win even though I have not practiced at all for ten days before this tournament because of a political meeting”, said Zhang Yining. “That’s why I didn’t think everything would turn out that well beforehand; during this final game I felt really confident and believed I would win.”

Team Mates
Not only are Zhang Yining national team colleagues, they are also from the same city.

Both come from Beijing and both play for the Beijing Capital Group Team in the Chinese Super League.

Champions
In 2007 alongside Ding Ning and Liu Kailun, they won the title and with having such exalted players in the team it may at first sight appear a foregone conclusion.

Not all, in the end of year averages Zhang Yining finished in fifth place and Guo Yan twelfth. It was a team effort with the doubles wins recorded by Guo Yan and Ding Ning vital. They finished top of the doubles averages.

Well Ahead
The win in Wels was the twenty-seventh Women’s Singles victory for Zhang Yining on the ITTF Pro Tour, three of the wins being in the end of year ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals. Her nearest rival is colleague Wang Nan who has a total of eighteen to her credit.

Zhang Yining now has four more ITTF Pro Tour singles wins than the leading man, Wang Liqin, he has a total of twenty-three.

Started as Favorite
In the Women’s Singles final at the Liebherr Austrian Open, Zhang Yining undoubtedly started as favorite.

She had won twelve of the fifteen previous encounters in World Ranking events against Guo Yan, in Wels she made it thirteen.

The wins for Guo Yan had come in their first meeting in June 2001 at the Panasonic China Open at the quarter-final stage and two years later in September 2003 in the last sixteen of the Women’s Singles event at the Japan Open.

Most Famous
However, the most notable was undoubtedly in October 2006 in the final of the Sinkiang Women’s World Cup in Urumqi when Guo Yan won her most prestigious title to date beating Zhang Yining in seven games.

Not Repeated
It is the one and only occasion that Guo Yan had won when the two have met in a final; in Wels they met again, the Urumqi success was not to be repeated and Zhang Yining was crowned Women’s Singles champion Liebherr Austrian Open 2007.

Click here to view the Men's Results and more from the 2007 Austrian Open.