(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
India’s Manav Thakkar had a fast start against a second-tier Chinese player in the opening round of the WTT Star Contender in Doha this week, but from that 0-2 position, Zhou Qihao flipped a switch. Thakkar didn’t just win the first two games, he won 11-8 and 11-5 before Qihao found his stride and won the next three. The World No. 36 next faced off against Liang Jingkun (World No. 7) and it was Qihao that won 3-2. The next two opponents were Hiroto Shinozuka (a 3-1 win for Qihao) and Huang Youzheng (a 3-1 Quarterfinal win for Qihao). This launched Qihao into the Semifinals, where he stopped a strong run by Dimirij Ovtcharov (3-2 to Qihao). And in the Final, Zhou Qihao over Wen Ruibo 4-2.
Early in his career, Zhou Qihao showed great promised. He won international U21 events, and at one point he beat Ma Long in the Marvellous 12 trials (gaining real fame in a televised match in China that was highlighting the defending Olympic champion and World Champion as he prepared for the Olympics – only to fall to Qihao 4-3). But the path never cleared for Qihao, and he was never able to pass Ma Long or Fan Zhendong or Xu Xin before younger players passed him. He has still been a successful club player with team titles in the Chinese Super League. The win today will give Qihao 600 ranking points – sending him into the World’s Top 25. At age 29, this may be one of his last chances to have a big impact on the tour.
Qihao was the biggest story in Doha this week, but he certainly wasn’t the only story. Dimitrij Ovtcharov is one of the best known names in the sport, and a week after defeating World No. 3 Hugo Calderano in another event, he logged another big upset. This week, his big win was a 3-1 victory over World No. 2 Lin Shidong. And he continued that momentum in the Quarterfinals with a hard-fought win over Jang Woojin (last week’s event winner). Ovtcharov lost in the Semifinals today, but he led for a time – up 2-1 before losing 2-3 to Qihao.
The Chinese contingent had mixed results in Doha. Despite Chuqin absent, three of China’s top four team members were present, and all three lost early in upsets. Lin Shidong fell to Ovtcharov in the Round of 16, Liang Jingkun in the Round of 32 (to eventual winner Zhou Qihao), and Xiang Peng fell to Simon Gauzy in the Round of 16. It was that next tier of Chinese players, that filled the void. Huang Youzheng (20 years old and World No. 56) defeated Apolonia, Togami, and Kuo before falling to Zhou Qihao in the Quarterfinals. Cheng Junsong (20 year old and World No. 43) defeated promising European junior Flavien Coton 3-0 before suffering a narrow 3-2 loss to World No. 17 Anders Lind. Xue Fei (World No. 72 – and a “generation” older at 26 years old), took out Chen Yuanyu and Tomokazu Harimoto before falling in the Quarterfinals to Ruibo.
And then there is 19-year-old Wen Ruibo (World No. 53) who almost grabbed every headline with his Finals appearance. Ruibo came from behind to beat Alvaro Robles 3-2 in the opening round. He then went on a tear that included a 3-0 win over Lin Yun Ju (World No. 9), and a 3-1 win over Anders Lind (World No. 17) in the Round of 16. That was already a great result, for such a young player – and he then defeated Xue Fei in a battle between two unlikely Chinese qualifiers. That launched him into the Semifinals against Hugo Calderano – and in what was likely the best match of the whole tournament (SEE BELOW), Ruibo and Calderano traded punches all the way to the fifth game. Picking up the action late in the fifth and final game: Calderano won a 15-shot rally to close the lead to 9-7, Calderano wins both of his serves with strong set-ups and backhand winners to tie the score 9-9, Ruibo’s backhand mid-rally clips the net and Calderano mis-hits the return, and then Ruibo plays a strong topspin safely to Calderano’s backhand and Calderano goes for a down-the-line winner that touches the net and floats long. The victory goes to Ruibo by the tightest of margins.
Later in Sunday, Ruibo tried to keep his Cinderella-story going, but it was not to be. He won the opening game 11-8, and then lost the next three. From that point, Zhou Qihao was careful playing in the lead, and they traded the final two games. Qihao wins 4-2. For the inconsistent Qihao, its a reminder to the world that on any given day he can beat anyone. For Wen Ruibo, its notice to the World that China has a class of 19 and 20 year olds rising quickly through the ranks – and he plans to be at the front of that red wave.
The next tour stop is in Muscat, Oman – and action starts on Monday. Lin Shidong, Liang Jingkun, and Xiang Peng are the top three seeds. Duda, Jorgic, and Franziska are the next three seeds. And Wen Ruibo is registered as well.
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