by Ian Marshall, Editor

The win recorded by Wu Yue was rather more convincing than anticipated; just over two months ago in late November, Gui Lin had beaten Wu Yue in six games at the quarter-final stage of proceedings in Santiago at the 2018 Pan American Championships.

Equally the mind went back to their epic contest in the women’s singles final at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto; on that occasion in the decisive seventh game Wu Yue had trailed 2-5 at the change of ends; then 5-7 before winning six points in a row to secure victory.

“Gui Lin did not play well today, last year I lost against her at the Pan American Championships in Santiago, so I prepared really thoroughly for the match. Today I was consistent and I was able to adapt and make changes when need but I must stress Gui Lin was not in form.” Wu Yue

A reversal of the result at the 2018 Pan American Championships, it was somewhat the same for Bruna Takahashi, she had been beaten by Yadira Silva in the women’s team competition in Santiago. However, notably at the 2018 Pan America Cup in Asuncion, Paraguay, Bruna Takhashi had beaten Yadira Silva in the bronze medal contest.

“Maybe I became a little passive after losing the fourth game; I played to her backhand, later I changed the direction of the play more, switched to her forehand. Throughout the match she served well, playing from my backhand I felt confident.” Bruna Takahashi

At the semi-final stage Bruna Takahashi faces the winner of the contest between Canada’s Zhang Mo and Lily Zhang of the United States; for Wu Yue it is either Canada’s Alicia Cote or the host nation’s Adriana Diaz.