Tournament of Champions Results
December 22, 2009

Ma Long fell in love with the winner's cup at the award ceremony. Photo By Courtesy of ITTF Asia/Pacific Office

Courtesy of ITTF Changsha, December 20, 2009 - MA Long of China is the winner in the Men's Singles event at the Volkswagen 2009 Tournament of Champions. On the final day of the event in Hunan's capital city Changsha, the 21-year-old world no.2 beat Germany's world no.4 Timo BOLL in five games 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 and 11-6. In the Women's event, GUO Yan emerged victorious. The no.5 in the women's world ranking overcame World Cup title holder LIU Shiwen in six games 11-7, 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-9 and 11-3.

Ma Long too Strong for Timo Boll in the Final
Timo BOLL wanted to beat another player from the table tennis powerhouse China, after he had eliminated WANG Hao in the quarter-finals. The German was not chanceless against MA Long in the final as well, but he missed his few chances in the close games.

"It was not a bad game; maybe I lost against the best player in the world", Timo BOLL said. "Ma Long puts you always under pressure. One must play perfect, but I think I am not too far away."

MA Long saw it similarly: "It was 4-1 in the end but it's a close match with three sets ending 11-9. In the fourth set I was 1-5 down but was able to win, this boosted my confidence. If I had lost the fourth game, the result might have changed."

Decisive Fifth Game in the Women's Final

China's GUO Yan overcame compatriot LIU Shiwen in six hard-fought games. The 2008 Pro Tour Grand Finals winner will receive 45,000 US dollars prize money.

GUO Yan started off well and took a 2 to 0 lead in games. LIU Shiwen, however, came back and leveled the match. Then 18-year-old LIU missed the chance to decide the final in her favor. "I missed some crucial points in this match", LIU told reporters in Chansha. "In the fifth game, I was 6-3 up, but there was a mess in my head, then it was 9-9 and edge ball decision that affected my mind. I was not determined enough. I lost some matches recently to Guo Yan in China, so I was not very confident in the whole match."

GUO Yan said: "Before this match, I made a different preparation to play against Liu Shiwen. In the past, I always treated her like a 'small child', but everybody knows that she is no longer a child now. She is at a top level." About the match she stated: "Liu was a bit slow in the first two sets, then from the third on she played much better."