(by Steve Hopkins)
One star is turning back the clock and another is righting the ship at the WTT Contender Series event in Doha this week. Tomokazu Harimoto has squeezed past two consecutive tight rounds with 3-2 wins over Simon Gauzy in the Quarters and Shunsuke Togami in the Semis. Harimoto had an inconsistent time in tournaments in 2023, but is poised at World No. 10 to be a factor at the Olympics this year. Timo Boll, on the other hand has fallen all the way out of the World’s Top 100 – but at least this week has been playing like his younger self. Boll has logged solid wins over Jang Woojin (World No. 12), Lee Sang Su (World No. 27), and Lin Yun-Ju (World No. 7) on his way to the Final. Both players will already receive a large points bounce with their result – but each has their eye on a strong start to 2024.
The Finals will be played on Saturday.
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