(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
Sweden’s best, Truls Moregard, fought his way into the Final on home soil in Malmo, and faced off against World No. 1 Lin Shidong in what turned out to be an epic match. Starting here at 8-8 in the seventh game with an electric home crowd pulling for an emotional local champion:
Shidong serves twice, winning one point with a strong backhand, and then losing the next with a backhand the floats long. Truls then serves short before stepping around his own backhand corner where he curls a ball right down the left line with heavy right to left spin that takes the ball wide of Shidong’s forehand for the winner. And then, up 10-9 with a match point, Truls serves long seeking an aggressive rally, Shidong plays a strong crosscourt backhand – Truls then pounds a forehand from his backhand side back into Shidong’s backhand. Shidong lands an amazing shot down the line (his backhand to Truls forehand). Truls has to cross the whole table to retrieve the ball and he does, hitting a strong topspin forehand while airborne, and then landing hard with both feet and quickly and moving back into the court to prepare for the next shot. Shidong hits a stronger forehand and Truls goes for a winner down the line to Shidong’s backhand. Shidong plays a round rolling ball and Truls presses his advantage hitting a stronger and wider shot to Shidong’s backhand. Shidong is pinned, and has to lob with his backhand – and this sets up a smash to lob finish where Shidong finally misses the eighth lob. Moregard wins 11-9 in the seventh.
The final match was epic. The final point was epic. The celebration of the crowd was epic. And the emotion of Truls after winning on this stage, in this location – also epic. An amazing end to a great event – and this is the first time that Truls has beaten Lin Shidong, and the first time that a European player has won a WTT SMASH event.
As is often the case with this elite WTT SMASH events, there were lots of interesting story lines in Malmo, Sweden this week. For American fans, Kanak Jha followed up his great showing the previous week (reaching the Semifinals of a WTT Champion Series event) with another upset – a win over World No. 17 Anders Lind. Jha then lost to Simon Gauzy – but Gauzy was making his own headlines with a win over Lin Gaoyuan and Darko Jorgic on his way to the Semifinals. And while clearly Truls Moregard is the biggest surprise in the headlines – Moregard’s Semifinal opponent was also a surprise – Benedikt Duda. At 31 years old, Duda has risen to be Germany’s best player – and he provided it again this week with wins over Pucar and Uda and Calderano.
Women’s Singles lacked the dramatic story lines – as four well-known Chinese players reached the Semis before World No. 1 Sun Yingsha topped World No. 2 Wang Manyu in the Final. Perhaps the biggest surprise was China’s Shi Xunyao (World No. 12) taking out Kuai Man (World No. 4) and Satsuki Odo (World No. 9) on her way to the Semifinals.’
The next WTT Champions Series event will be in Macao in two weeks, and then all of the big names will reconvene in Beijing at the end of September for the China Smash.
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