(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF)
So far, no stunning upsets in Beijing at the China Smash. Top seed Wang Chuqin won his opening match 3-0, and Tomokazu Harimoto and Felix Lebrun each advanced easily as well. Most of the bottom half of the draw will not see action until Monday. There were some small surprises as Anton Kallberg ousted Lin Yun-Ju 3-2, and Matsushima defeated Kirill Gerassimenko 3-0.
Australia’s Finn Luu, logged the biggest upset so far with his opening match at the China Smash. That Sunday win was the young Aussie’s first win at a major event – as the No. 43 player took out World No. 30 Alvaro Robles 3-1. Next up for Luu is Felix Lebrun in the Round of 32.
Two Americans made the trip to Beijing as both Kanak Jha and Jinbao Ma were placed in the same Qualifier. Slovakia’s Yang Wang, a tricky defender who mixes chops and loops, won that group and will face Patrick Franziska on Monday. Seeding is very important in these large events – as the top 46 seeds all began in the main draw while the next 64 players had to win three qualification matches before making the main draw. Both Americans finished 1-1, each winning their opening match before losing their second. A little extra frustration for Kanak Jha is that one matchup in the main draw was between Simon Gauzy and Kao Cheng-Jui – two players that Kanak has beaten in recent weeks in league play in Germany.
There was one big upset on the Women’s side as Fan Siqi (World No. 82) took out World No. 3 Wang Yidi in a tight 3-2 battle. The other main seeds are in tact in the draw, but there is now a potential opening through to the Semifinals and a number of players that could take advantage includes Siqi, Sawettabut, Xiaotong, and Ching I-Ching.
Lots of quality table tennis on tap all week long – we’ll have more updates soon.
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