(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov entered the event as the top seed, and he dominated from start to finish. Ovtcharov’s game scores were 3-0, 3-0, 3-0, 3-1, 4-1 (topping Kim, Kang, Ning, Poret, and Walther). In fact, the only time that Ovtcharov was behind in a match was in the Semifinal, when he dropped the first game to France’s Thibault Poret (a match he eventually won 3-1). Ovtcharov’s opponent in the Final was a surprise as Ricard Walter, the event’s 8th seed (at World No. 101), upset World No. 34 Lim Jonghoon 3-2 in their Semifinal match.
India attended in force, winning three of the five events. Sreeja Akula won Women’s Singles, Desai and Thakkar won Men’s Doubles, and Akula teamed with Kamath to win Women’s Doubles. The fifth event was Mixed Doubles – that title went to Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin.
The WTT tour next heads to Bangkok in the first week of July. WTT also has a Youth Contender this week in Westchester. And don’t forget the 2024 US National Championships in Huntsville that starts in 10 days (July 3-7).
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