06/02/2012        2012 ITTF North American Cup

The top three names in the Men’s Singles event at the ITTF-North American Cup, in the Canadian city of Mississauga, all emerged in first place in their group matches on Saturday 2nd June 2012.

Timothy Wang from the United States plus the Canadian duo of André Ho and Pierre-Luc Theriault all finished in first place in their respective groups.

However, for Xavier Therien, also from Canada and seeded no.4; life was more difficult. He was beaten by the in-form Adam Hugh from the United States (11-8, 11-9, 11-9) and thus finished the group in second place.

Consolation
Defeat but there was consolation for the Canadian, who represented North America at the LIEBHERR men’s World Cup in Moscow in 2009.

The players finishing in first and second places in each group progressed to the main draw.

Canadian Raises Eyebrows
Otherwise matters progressed very much as expected, with the host nation’s Arnaud Roche-Nadon being very much the player to catch the eye.

He was beaten by Pierre-Luc Theriault as expected (11-7, 11-7, 11-8) but then upset matters by overcoming Michael Landers of the United States (12-10, 7-11, 16-14, 11-5), a win that secured the Canadian second place in the group.

World Ranking
Michael Landers currently stands at no.543 on the Men’s World Rankings; Arnaud Roche-Nadon has now global listing.

Main Draw Places Booked
Second place in the group for Xavier Therien and Arnaud Roche-Nadon, thus a place in the main draw; it was the same situation for Grant Li of the United States and Canada’ James Pintea.

No Hiccups
Meanwhile, in the Women’s Singles event, there were no hiccups amongst the top four names.

The United States trio of Ariel Hsing, Erica Wu and Judy Hugh all finished in first place in their respective groups as did Zhang Mo of Canada, the second seed.

Second Places
Runners up spots and thus a place in the main draw were secured by the Canadian quartet of Sara Yuen, Stephanie Yuen, Annie Coulombe and Carmen Lee........