10/22/2006 2006 SERBIAN Open

The Men’s Singles final at the Serbian Open in Belgrade on Sunday 22nd October 2006 was a contest between two power players: Japan's Kaii Yoshida, right handed, an exponent of the penhold grip and Austria's Kostadin Lengerov; also right handed but a shakehands grip player.

History favoured Kaii Yoshida. On their one previous meeting in a world ranking event he prevailed; in the first round of the Men’s Singles event at the Polish Open in October 2004 he had beaten the Austrian in five games.

 10/22/2006 2006 SERBIAN Open

The contest to decide the Women’s Singles title at the Serbian Open in Belgrade was only the second time in a world ranking tournament that the two protagonists on duty had met.

Japan’s Sayaka Hirano, the number one seed, and Italy’s Wenling Tan Monfardini had confronted each other in November 2002 at the Danish Open but it was in a totally different environment. In Denmark the contest had been in the qualification stage of the Women’s Singles event; in Belgrade it was a showpiece contest.

 10/22/2006 2006 SERBIAN Open

All eyes were focused on one player in particular in the Men’s Doubles final at the Serbian Open in Belgrade on Sunday 22nd October 2006; the local man Aleksandar Karakasevic. He was partnering Romania’s Andrei Filimon against the Polish duo of Dániel Gorak and Wang Zeng Yi.

A home victory was what the crowd desired and their star man with his Romanian colleague duly delivered.

 10/22/2006 2006 SERBIAN Open

Both pairs in the Women’s Doubles final at the Serbian Open in Belgrade on Sunday 22nd October 2006 formed the classic combination; both had a left hander and a right hander in the line up.

For Italy it was the left handed Nicoletta Stefanova and the right handed Wenling Tan Monfardini; for Japan it was it was the left handed Ai Fujinuma and the right handed Sayaka Hirano.

 10/22/2006 2006 SERBIAN Open

History pointed in favour of Austria’s Kostadin Lengerov in his semi-final duel against Italy’s Mihai Bobocica at the Serbian Open in Belgrade on Sunday 22nd October 2006.

The players had met twice previously in world ranking events and on both occasions Kostadin Lengerov had won. However, both meetings had been four years ago in 2002 and Mihai Bobocica is a rapidly improving player.

 10/22/2006 2006 SERBIAN Open

Playing right handed penhold grip attacking players at the Serbian Open in Belgrade had proved very much to the liking of twenty-six year old Bernhard Presslmayer of Austria.

On Friday 21st October 2006 he had beaten two players who adopt that style of play; Poland’s Wang Zeng Yi and Japan’s Kan Yo; the following day in the semi-finals of the Men’s Singles event he faced another player of the same ilk, the number three seed Japan’s all action Kaii Yoshida.

 10/22/2006 2006 SERBIAN Open

In Belgrade, at the Serbian Open on Sunday 22nd October 2006, Germany Wu Jiaduo made her first ever appearance in a Women’s Singles final on the ITTF Pro Tour.

Playing in such a high profile duel can be quite daunting but she had every right to approach her match against Wenling Tan Monfardini with confidence.