(by Steve Hopkins)
The top players in the world have converged this week in Singapore for the 2026 rendition of the Singapore Smash. Action has now progressed to the Quarterfinals, but not without losing some of the top seeds along the way.
World No. 2 Hugo Calderano, World No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto both fell on Friday, and when you include World No. 7 Sora Matsushima’s Thursday loss, that was a costly Round of 16 for high seeds. China’s Chen Yuanyu has had one of the toughest draw thus far, needing all five games to defeat Darko Jorgic in the opening round, then taking out Milosz Redsimki 3-1 before outlasting Hugo Calderano this morning. Calderano actually won the first game 11-6, the only game of the four played that was decided by more than 2 points. However, from that point forward, it was three in a row for Yuanyu winning 11-9, 12-10, and 11-9 to advance. Yuanyu next will face Truls Moregard.
Moregard has had an easier path, with 3-1 and 3-0 wins early. He then was able to face an inexperienced Thibault Poret – who had logged a pair of upsets over Uda and Qiu just to reach the Round of 16. Moregard took advantage of the moment, and won 3-1.
The upset of Harimoto came at the hands of Patrick Franziska. This was the third match in a row that Franziska has won 3-2. He had a surprisingly difficult time with Pang Koen of Singapore, a young lefty who is only No. 178 in the rankings. Franziska then came from down 0-2 to upset Alexis Lebrun. And, of course, the 3-2 win today over Harimoto sends Franziska into the Quarters. Franziska will face Lin Yun-Ju on Saturday – Yun-Ju is 9-0 over his three matches thus far.
Lin Shidong and Felix Lebrun each advanced to the Quarters and will face each other on Saturday. Felix has not lost a game yet, with his most recent win ending the run of another promising young Frenchman, Flavien Coton. Shidong defeated Lim Jonghoon decisively – dropping one game 16-14, but winning the others easily at 5, 4, and 3.
The final Quarterfinal matchup will be between World No. 1 Wang Chuqin, and Korea’s Jang Woojin. Woojin upset Sora Matsushima on Thursday to advance. Chuqin took care of business against Anders Lind 3-1. Matsushima had earlier defeated USA’s Kanak Jha in the Round of 32 – a 3-1 win over the American with two tight games that they split, and two dominant games that showcased the power of Matsushima.
The final tally of the last eight remaining: Three Chinese players, 1 Swede, 1 Frenchman, 1 German, 1 from Taipei, and 1 from the Korea Republic. Action continues on Saturday.
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