Pan Am Games: Men’s & Women’s Singles Main Draws

At the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, Men’s and Women’s Singles Table Tennis are now moving into the main draws.  View the schedule of events for this evening and tomorrow’s schedule of quarterfinals through finals.
Main Draws: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles

Main Draw Places Reserved, Players to Upset Seeding Book Main Draw Places
Courtesy of ITTF

One day earlier, the host nation’s Pierre-Luc Theriault, Argentina’s Pablo Tabachnik and Timothy Wang from the United States of America had been the players to upset the seeding in the first stage of the Men’s Singles event at the 2015 Pan American Games in Markham, Toronto.

Pierre-Luc Theriault, the no.17 seed, had beaten Cuba’s Andy Pereira, the no.5 seed (11-6, 11-1, 11-7, 11-8); Pablo Tabachnik, the no.13 seed, had overcome Puerto Rico’s Brian Afanador, the no.7 seed (13-11, 11-13, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9), while Timothy Wang, the no.14 seed, had accounted for Argentina’s Gaston Alto, the no.9 seed (11-6, 11-9, 1-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6).

Maintained Form
On the following morning, Friday 24th July, all three maintained their form to conclude the group stage unbeaten, while for the trio who had caused surprise upsets there were also wins and thus a place in the main draw was reserved.

Players finishing in first and second positions in each of the ten groups advanced to the main draw.

Impressive Performances
Pierre-Luc Theriault accounted for Chile’s Gustavo Gomez, the no.22 seed (12-10, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7); while Andy Pereira defeated the Dominican Republic’s Samuel Galvez, the no.37 seed (11-8, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6).

Likewise Pablo Tabachnik overcame Venezuela’s Luis Diaz, the no.26 seed (11-7, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11) while Brian Afanador returned to form to end the hopes of Paraguay’s Axel Gavilan, the no.33 seed (11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8).

Meanwhile, not to be left out Timothy Wang emerged successful. He overcame a determined Guatemalan in the guise of Heber Moscosco, the no.30 seed (4-11, 11-9, 11-4, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6), Gaston Alto ended the hopes of Ecuador’s Rodrigo Tapia, the no.34 seed (11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7).

Crowd Support
Success and playing on home soil for Pierre-Luc Theriault it was very special.

“Gustavo is a good player, he is very safe, good from the backhand; I focused on playing more to his forehand”, said Pierre-Luc Theriault. “It’s a great feeling to win, it’s great to finish in first place in the group but it’s even greater to win and finish first on home soil; the crowd, just unbelievable, I’ve never had so much support, I’ve never known a crowd like it!”

Good Physical and Mental Shape
The support from the Canadian fans has certainly lifted Pierre-Luc Theriault who is playing better match by match; for Pablo Tabachnik, he has seen it all before having made his debut two decades ago in 1995 and although he may not be receiving the same level of passionate support, he is in good shape.

“I’ve played Luis before, not recently but I’ve always won, so I was confident before the match”, said the 37 year old Argentine. “Physically and mentally I feel in good shape, ready for the next stage, let’s see what the draw brings.”

Worthy Opponent
Comfortable wins for Pierre-Luc Theriault and Pablo Tabachnik but for Timothy Wang, life was much more difficult against Heber Moscosco.

“He was good playing short; that caused me problems at the start of the match”, said Timothy Wang. “After the fourth game I changed my services, I served with top spin more often; physically I feel good, now let’s see what the draw brings and how far I can go.”

First Places
Pole positions against original expectations for Pierre-Luc Theriault, Pablo Tabachnik and Timothy Wang; in the remaining seven groups it was the highest rated player who concluded matters with an unblemished record and in first position.

On the previous evening, Brazil’s Gustavo Tsuboi and Canada’s Eugene Wang, the respective top two seeds, had secured first places; on the morning of the sixth day of play, Hugo Calderano and Thiago Monteiro, like Gustavo Tsuboi from Brazil followed suit as did Mexico’s Marcos Madrid, Ecuador’s Alberto Miño and Paraguay’s Marcelo Aguirre.

Schedule
Play in the main commences later in the day; the quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals will be played on Saturday July 25th.

Day 5 Photos from the 2015 Pan American Games
by Thorsten Gohl / Courtesy of ITTF