Ma Long record holder
Men’s Singles: Final
Ma Long, the no.11 seed, beat Lin Gaoyuan, the no.2 seed (12-10, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4) to win a record breaking 29th ITTF World Tour men’s singles title; he moves one ahead of Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.
In the final Lin Guoayan had a glimmer of hope in the opening game when he recovered from 8-10 to level at 10-all; the next two points went to Ma Long, more relaxed the champion elect moved through the gears to dominate proceedings. Lin Gaoyuan trailed 2-5 in the third game, called “Time Out” but to no avail, in the fourth at 7-4 ahead Ma Long did the same; a prudent move he did not lose another point.
Lucky venue
Women’s Singles: Final
Chen Meng reacted very positively after her success, delighted to be in Shenzhen.
“Shenzhen is my lucky place. Last time I won the Marvellous 12 and qualified for World Championships. Wang Manyu and me, we are too familiar with each other. We train together every day. We play against each other several times a year. Today is all about how we play on court. My coach Ma Lin encouraged me a lot.” Chen Meng
Cheng Meng secures title
Women’s Singles: Final
Cheng Meng the no.2 seed beat Wang Manyu, the no.4 seed to win the women’s singles title in Suzhou (11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7); thus Wang Manyu fell just one step short of repeating the success of one year ago.
The crucial stage of the contest came in the fourth game. Wang Manyu established a 7-3 lead; Chen Meng reduced the deficit to one point at 8-7. Wang Manyu called “Time Out” but the next two points went to Cheng Meng, at 10-8 she held two game points, she converted at the second attempt. It was a major momentum change.
Ma Long reacts
Success for Ma Long but the no.11 seed believes that his Japanese counterpart Tomokazu Harimoto is set to challenge the Chinese elite for years to come:
“It is a really big match on the international stage. I also felt stressed, especially in the first two games. I feel he is stronger this time. I was a bit lucky to win the second game. From the third game, I changed my tactics which proved to work out well. He is only 16 now, but he is at such a high level. I think he will not only the biggest opponent to us, but also in the upcoming 10 years.” Ma Long
Japanese hopes fade
Men’s Singles: Semi-Final
The men’s singles title will end up in the hands of one of the host nation’s competitors after Ma Long successfully dealt with Japanese teenage star Tomokazu Harimoto in the semi-finals.
In a tense encounter it was actually fourth seed Tomokazu Harimoto who struck first, gaining an early one game lead. But, four games on the bounce for Ma Long saw the three-time World champion seal his ticket to the gold medal contest (14-16, 16-14, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7), setting up an all-China final which will commence at approximately 7.50pm local time.
Master of penhold defeated
Men’s Singles: Semi-Final
Xu Xin is out of the race for men’s singles glory in Shenzhen following the second seed’s semi-final defeat.
The penhold specialist held a two games to one lead in the match but failed to capitalise on the advantage as third seed Lin Gaoyuan fought back to claim a 4-2 victory (11-9, 6-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6).
Wang Mangyu reacts
Just one win away from the top step of the podium for the second year running but Wang Manyu is well aware that she will need to be at her very best to achieve that goal with fellow compatriot Chen Meng standing in her way:
“I think today I performed really well and carried out my planned tactics very firmly. Last year at the Japan Open I lost to her. Today here at the China Open I am happy to win. I lost against Chen Meng 4-0 at the World Championships. Today I want to use 100% of my energy to challenge her. Hopefully I can play out my best performance.” Wang Manyu
Brave effort but Japanese star falls
Women’s Singles: Semi-Final
The player responsible for top seed Ding Ning’s previous round exit, but Japan’s Mima Ito was halted in the last four: China’s Wang Manyu, seeded fourth, displayed great composure to see off the no.7 seed across five games (12-10, 12-10, 5-11, 11-7, 11-6).
Watch the finale of the women’s singles event unfold at approximately 7.00pm local time.
Chen Meng reacts
Following her 4-1 semi-final win, Chen Meng says she’s throwing her support behind national colleague Wang Manyu in the next penultimate round fixture:
“This was a really tough match, especially in the first game. She gave me a lot of pressure. It was not easy to win this match. I will watch Wang Manyu play against Mima Ito. This is an important match for Wang – I hope she can win!” Chen Meng
Tight start but Chen Meng makes final
Women’s Singles: Semi-Final
Third seed Chen Meng is through to the women’s singles final in Shenzhen after coming up trumps against second seed Zhu Yuling in an all-China semi-final.
The match proved exciting right from the start with Chen Meng taking the opening game by a narrow 18-16 margin and the Seamaster 2018 Grand Finals champion went on to pick up three of the following four games to complete the victory (18-16, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9).
Schedule of Play (local times)
Women’s Singles
13.00 Semi-Final: Chen Meng (China) v Zhu Yuling (China)
13.50 Semi-Final: Mima Ito (Japan) v Wang Manyu (China)
19.00 Final
Men’s Singles
14.40 Semi-Final: Lin Gaoyuan (China) v Xu Xin (China)
15.30 Semi-Final: Ma Long (China) v Tomokazu Harimoto (Japan)
19.50 Final
