(by Steve Hopkins)
At 17 years old, Felix Lebrun is at the start of his career as he continues to prove he belongs among the top tier of European players. And, on the other end of the spectrum, 35 year old Dimitrij Ovtcharov is jockeying for a strong seed as he positions himself for another deep run in 2024 at the World Table Tennis Team Championships and the Olympics. These two players will face each other on Sunday in the Final of the WTT Contender series event in Antalya, Turkey. A win for Ovtcharov will send him up the Ranking list to No. 7 or 8, and a win for Lebrun would likely launch him into the World Top 10 for a career best ranking (at No. 9 or No. 10).
For Ovtcharov, he entered the tournament as the second seed, and he performed exactly as expected. Ovtcharov logged wins over Ionescu, Chuang, Matsushima, and Togami on his way to the Final. Matsushima was twice up on Ovtcharov, but a late rally turned the result towards Germany’s top ranked player.
Lebrun defeated Bardet and Filus at 3-0 and 3-1. He then dominated World No. 4 Hugo Calderano scoring a 3-0 win. Lebrun then moved to the Semifinal where he faced a hot Anton Kallberg (who upset Moregard earlier in the day), and again – a dominate performance by Lebrun for a 3-1 win.
In Women’s Singles, the top two seeds have advanced in commanding fashion. Hina Hayata has lost only two games in her four wins and Ying Hang has logged four separate 3-0 match wins. These players will face off on Sunday.
Check in tomorrow for results of all of the event Finals.
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