(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF)
The top four seeds reached the Semifinals of Men’s Singles at the ITTF-Americas Cup in San Francisco and wins by the top two seeds set up a Final between World No. 3 Hugo Calderano and World No. 21 Kanak Jha.
Jha had a solid tournament, dropping only three games while defeating Guilherme Teodora of Brazil, Angel Naranjo of Puerto Rico, and Eugene Wang of Canada. Calderano was dominant from the start, a 4-0 win over Otalvaro, a 4-1 winover USA’s Kumar, and a 4-0 win over the fourth seeded Horacio Cifuentes.
Calderano and Jha have faced each other many times, and Calderano has won a vast majority (head to head Calderano has won 10 of 12). However, in their last two meetings, they are 1-1, and Jha is very comfortable in this venue (at a club where he has played many times, and in fact, the location where he won this event a year ago).
The Final went as many would expect. Great points. Solid play on both ends. Tight scores. However, Calderano was clearly the stronger player with more power and more variation – and the one most often setting the pace. Jha often seemed to be reacting – with brilliant blocks and heavy angles and careful placement. However, as the match wore on, the World No. 3 put a little distance between himself and Jha. The two split the first two games – but it was Calderano winning the next three. Hugo Calderano wins 4-1.
A solid performance by both players. A solid event result by both players. And as finishing in the top four means an automatic qualification to the World Cup – a great result for both.
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