Last Eight Places Booked in Style, Leading Names Untroubled
2015 ITTF North American Championships
Courtesy of ITTF
Eyes focused on gold, the leading names imposed their authority on proceedings in the opening round of the Women’s Singles event at the 2015 ITTF-North American Championships in Westchester, New York on Saturday September 5th, the first day of action in the three day tournament.
Canada’s Zhang Mo, Lily Zhang and Prachi Jha of the United States, the respective top three names all reserved quarterfinal places in style, while Crystal Wang, also wearing the badge of the Stars and Stripes, was not required to raise her racket in anger.
She received a walk-over against Canada’s Amy Nicholls, the no.11 seed; after Zhang Mo had beaten Canada’s Alicia Cote (11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 12-10, 11-9) and Prachi Jha had overcome Laura Lai, the no.15 seed and also from Canada (11-6, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6).
Soon after, Lily Zhang booked her last eight place; impressively she ended the hopes of compatriot Ishana Deb, the no.10 seed (11-5, 11-7, 4-11, 11-4, 11-4).
Acclimatizing
“I think my performance wasn’t fantastic, as this is my first match of the whole tournament, I’m still not used to the playing conditions here in the venue”, said Zhang Mo. “Alicia also did well during the match, I had problems with her backhand while playing her, it’s really heavy & fast.”
Problems overcome; it was the same for Prachi Jha in opposition to Laura Lai
“Laura is much younger than me and she’s really good for her age, so I think when she’s a little bit older, she’s going to be a really good player”, said Prachi Jha who is 18 years old as opposed to Laura Lai who is only 13 years of age.
“She has a very unique serve which I found tricky to handle”, added Prachi Jha. “In the beginning, I just tried to get the ball on the table, as I got more confident, I started looping.”
Next in Line
Success for the top four names, there were also wins for the next in the order of merit with the United States enjoying success after success.
Judy Hugh, Tina Lin, Amy Wang and Grace Yang all booked last eight places without being extended the full seven games distance. All defeated Canadian adversaries.
Impressively, Judy Hugh the no.5 seed, accounted for Justina Yeung, the no.13 seed (11-9, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-5); while Tina Lin, the no.6 seed, overcame Ivy Liao, the no.14 seed (10-12, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4) in a contest that attracted the attention.
Overcame Nerves
“In the beginning, because I haven’t been playing tournaments for a while, I had to get rid of my nerves, towards the end, I felt I was less tense mentally, so I was able to pull through”, said Tina Lin. “I think my performance was above average but it wasn’t great either.”
Victorious but Tina Lin did experience problems.
“Ivy played really well, her serves were difficult to return but I think the hardest part of the match was the mental aspect, the tournament mind-set”, added Tina Lin.
“Whenever I was leading, I became tense and I had to remind myself that each point was its own individual point.”
Philosophical
Defeat for Ivy Liao but she was philosophical.
“It was a good match, my play was more consistent and I had the lead in the beginning, but she was fast in figuring out my loopholes; she was very fast, so the match went in her favor”, explained Ivy Liao. “During the rallies, she was more in control, always hitting to my corners, making it difficult for me to move her around.”
Amy Wang and Grace Yang
Progress for the fifth and sixth seeds, it was also progress for the next two names in the pecking order.
Amy Wang, the no.7 seed, beat Joyce Xu (11-3, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4); Grace Yang, the no.8 seed, received a walk-over against Liu Jiabao.
Quarterfinals
At the quarterfinal stage, in the top half of the draw Zhang Mo meets Grace Yang, Prachi Jha confronts Judy Hugh; in the lower half Crystal Wang opposes Tina Lin, Lily Zhang confronts Amy Wang.
The quarterfinal matches in the Women’s Singles event will be played on Sunday September 6th.
