(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
By Saturday, the action had progressed all the way to the Quarterfinals at the WTT Champions Series event in Chongqing, China. The WTT Champions Series is the best of the best, and the results today reset the slate from any surprises as the top four ranked players in the world are now the final four players remaining in Chongqing.
The top half of the draw had the most thrilling action on Saturday as both of the top seeds trailed in their matches. Lin Yun-Ju struck first in his match against World No. 1 Lin Shidong, but the two traded games and Shidong outlasted Taipei’s top player for the 3-2 win. It was a similar script with Felix Lebrun winning the first game against Liang Jingkun, but the next two games were tight and Jingkun won both. That sealed Felix’s fate, as the two traded wins in the final two games but Liang Jingkun won 3-2.
The bottom half of the draw may have had the better story lines, but unfortunately for the fans the match results were never in doubt. World No. 2 Wang Chuqin faced off against Truls Moregard for the first time since Moregard upset (then World No. 1) Chuqin in the Olympics. That match did not start Chuqin’s slide in the rankings, but it may have been the most visible blow to what had been a year long run at the top of the World Rankings. That set the stage for some great drama – but it never materialized. Chuqin dominated from the start with 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 wins.
The other match in the bottom half of the draw also had an interesting story line as World no. 28 Hiroto Shinozuka had emerged from the chaos of a part of the draw featuring 4 upsets to face countryman Tomokazu Harimoto in an all-Japan Quarterfinal. The two had previously faced each other three times and Harimoto had won all three, but perhaps after wins over Ovtcharov and Lee Sang Su the 21 year old Shinozuka could turn the script. In the opening game, the two fought to a 10-10 tie, and Harimoto pulled out the first game with two careful points. After that, it was three lopsided games with Harimoto winning two to secure the 3-1 victory.
On Sunday it will be Wang Chuqin versus Tomokazu Harimoto and Lin Shidong versus Liang Jingkun. The Final will be played on Sunday evening as well.
Sometimes writing articles about the Women’s Singles results is repetitive. There are occasional upsets sometimes, but usually fewer surprises in the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals. Like the men, the top four women have reached the Final Four in Chongqing. Sun Yingsha won three matches and dropped 1 game (9-1 in games), Wang Yidi will face her in the Semifinals (also dropped 1 game, 9-1 total). And in the bottom half of the draw, Chen Xingtong is 9-1 in games over her three victories on her way to the Semifinals, and she will face Wang Manyu who is 9-0. The losers in the Quarterfinals included three Japanese players, Odo, Hayata, and Harimoto. Kuai Man also reached the Quarters, a Wild Card selection due to her recent deep runs in WTT events and her fast rise to World No. 7 – but today she was no match for Chen Xingtong as she fell 0-3.
The Semifinals and Finals will be played on Sunday.
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