9/30/2007        2007 Volkswagen Women's World Cup

Playing for third place was nothing new for Hong Kong’s Tie Yana at a Women’s World Cup.

In Chengdu on Sunday 30th September 2007 she was in that position for the fourth consecutive year.

On two of the previous three occasions she had finished in fourth place, in the capital city of the Sichuan Province it was fourth place yet again, she suffered at the hands of Guo Yue in straight games.

Guo Yue won contest 12-10, 10-12, 13-11, 12-10, 11-8.

Previous Experiences
In 2004 in Xiaoshan she had succeeded in the bronze medal match beating Singapore’s Li Jia Wei but in the two succeeding years she had suffered.

At the Hengda Women’s World Cup in Guangzhou the following year she lost to the in form Ai Fukuhara of Japan and at the Sinkiang Women’s World Cup in Urumqi in 2006 it was Li Jia Wei who defeated her.

Close
In the opening game, Tie Yana impressed; her topspin play from both backhand and forehand caused Guo Yue problems.

She established a 10-9 lead but could not convert the advantage; the speed of Guo Yue told, the next three points all went to the reigning World champion; she was one game to the good.

Mirror
The second game was a virtual mirror of the first. Tie Yana held a 10-9 lead, Guo Yue recovered to level but on this occasion there was a difference. Tie Yana did not make any mistakes, she was consistent, her service was short, her return of service immaculate.

She won the next two points and the match score was level at one game apiece.

Speed versus Spin
Matters level, it was the sheer speed of Guo Yue that prevailed in the early stages of the third game.

However, as the game progressed, she made some errors returning service and the controlled topspin play of Tie Yana directed into the backhand of Guo Yue forced errors; at 10-all and 11-all it was parity before Guo Yue won two points in a row to secure victory.

Rallies
In the fourth game Tie Yana answered Guo Yue in the early part of the match and with her own topspin play outstandingly consistent, she moved into a 6-4 lead.

She extended the lead to 7-4; Guo Yue won the next two points before a fast backhand topspin from Tie Yana into the Guo Yue backhand secured a two point advantage at 8-6.

Jia You
The next two four points were shared, it was 9-all. The cry of “Guo Yue Jia You”, play stronger, reverberated around the room.

Tie Yana won the next point to move ahead 10-9 but the next three all went to Guo Yue. The World champion was two games to the good.

Top Speed
The fifth game started at top speed, both players staying close to the table with Tie Yana gaining a 4-2 lead.

Guo Yue recovered and at 6-5 held a one point lead, Li Huifen, the Hong Kong coach called `Time Out’. However the break worked in favour of Guo Yue.

Victory
She went ahead 8-5 and at 10-6 had match point; Tie Yana saved the two match points but could not make it a third.

It was victory for Guo Yue.