Site Products
August Rankings: Xu Keeps Top Spot

Reversal of Fortune for the Chinese: (Fortune Kooky ??!?)

Reversal of Fortune for the Chinese: (Fortune Kooky ??!?)
(By Steve Hopkins / Photo credit to ITTF)

SWEDISH OPEN:  After a two tournament absent from the podium, the Chinese were back with a vengeance at the Seamaster 2017 World Tour Swedish Open in Stockholm this weekend.  The Chinese took five of the eight spots in the Quarters, and all four slots in the Semis.  Fan Zhendong defeated Zhou Yu (4-3) on one half of the draw, and Xu Xin defeated Fang Bo (4-2) to secure his spot in the Final.  Xu Xin then dominated the final 4-1.

Neither Dimitrij Ovtcharov nor Timo Boll participated in this event (Ovtcharov and Boll each shared in the All-German Finals of both the German Open and the World Cup in recent weeks), but that should not take away from the domination of the Chinese in Stockholm.  Of the seven Chinese players in the draw, all advanced to the round of 16, and five advanced to the Quarterfinals.  In fact, for the full event, not a single Chinese entry lost to a non-Chinese player — all of their losses were to other Chinese.

Despite the rankings, Xu Xin has given Fan Zhendong trouble over the years.  Fan’s results against Xu have improved in recent years (as have the results of the World No. 2 against virtually all other players).

Fan lead early in the first game and held on to his early lead, but Xu Xin won the first two points of the second game and never looked back.  Game two was close, with Xu winning at -7.  The final three games were -9, -6, and -2. Fan was the aggressor throughout the match, driving the pace on both sides.  Xu’s tactics appeared to be more controlled, using touch off of the serve to begin soft, playing safer balls in the rallies, and counter-punching when Fan attacked – keeping Fan off balance.  When Xu did attack, it was often “all-in”, using his full body to maximize power and often moving so far out of position that it would be impossible to recover.

Ultimately, this was Xu Xin’s day – starting a little slow, but dominating a vast majority of the match.

______________

The Complete Men’s Draw and tournament information can be found here.

Finals (Xin v. Zhendong) (Courtesy of BestTT)

Latest News

Top players in MLTT after Week 3

October 16, 2025
(by: Major League Table Tennis) [caption id="attachment_270373" align="alignnone" width="366"] MLTT WEEK 3 PLAYER POWER RANKINGS[/caption] Major League Table… Read More

China Wins Asian Championships

October 15, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF) Team China won the ITTF-ATTU 28th Asian Table Tennis Team Championships.  That headline… Read More

Pan Am Championships: Calderano and Diaz Win Singles Titles

October 15, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) Hugo Calderano topped Kanak Jha in the Men’s Final and Adriana Diaz’s upset… Read More

Pan Am Championships: Early Action

October 14, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) Singles started on Sunday, with top seeds in action on Monday. at the… Read More

Laurent Jutras Vigneault – Forehand Opening Loop from underspin

October 14, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Laurent Jutras Vigneault is working on his opening loop from… Read More

Zyre 03: Redefining Power and Spin in Modern Table Tennis

October 13, 2025
(By Edgardo Vazquez/Bowmar Sports) In top-level table tennis, every detail counts. The choice of rubber can be the… Read More

Tip of the Week – Your Evolving Relationship With a Coach

October 13, 2025
By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame When you start out, the coach is… Read More

Rogelio Castro – Short Push vs Long Push

October 13, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rogelio Castro is executing a touch drill that consist of… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.