(by Steve Hopkins)

In the last Quarterfinal of the day, Ma Long defeated Ovtcharov 3-0.  Ovtcharov was the last German left in this German event, though local players Dang Qiu and Benedikt Duda did make it to the Round of 16.  Ma Long has cruised thus far, winning three matches and only dropping one game.  Ma Long will face Felix Lebrun in one Semifinal.

Lebrun has had a series of exciting matches in Frankfurt.  He fell behind Simon Gauzy in their opening match, but was able to take the final two games for the 3-2 win.  Lebrun then faced off against Dang Qiu – a match between the two top penholders in the world – and despite having lost most of their head-t0-head battles, Lebrun won 3-0.  And today, Lebrun won the first game against Lee Sang-Su.  Lebrun actually dominated for a game and a half but then momentum shifted and Sang-su was just as dominant – winning the second game and the third.  Lebrun then jumped ahead in the fourth game only to see Sang-su tie the match.  Lebrun won the fourth game 14-12 and then had an easier time closing out the final game for the 3-2 win.

The other Semifinal will be Lin Yun-Ju, who defeated Harimoto today against Wang Chuqin, who defeated Lim Jonghoon today.  Chuqin and Yun-Ju have played each other 11 times in the past, and Chuqin has won 9 of those meetings.  Action starts with the Semifinals on Saturday afternoon and the Final will be held on Sunday.

Lots of quality table tennis on tap all week long – we’ll have more updates soon.

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