(by Steve Hopkins)

Shunsuke Togami, World No. 14, was the top seed in Almaty for this week’s WTT Contender series event.  Togami didn’t just win, he dropped only one game in the five matches he won – topped off with a 4-0 Finals win over Simon Gauzy.  For Gauzy, he was less dominant, but the event’s second seed did reach the Final and finish second.  Togami defeated fourth seeded Hamada 3-0 in the Semifinals.

The only surprise, was Evgeny Tikhonov, a 20-year-old Russian who is unranked but who managed to reach the Semifinals.  A step further, Tikhonov won the first game, and then fell just short in the next two (losing both 11-9, 11-9) before succumbing to the second seed 1-3.   The story of the tournament is Togami.  However, the surprise of the tournament is a rising Russian – Tikhonov.

In Women’s Singles, Hina Hayata was the top seed.  She defeated Adriana Diaz to reach the Final, but there it was Miu Hirano who won – the third seed surprising the top seed.  Men’s Doubles went to a pair of Russians – Lev Katsman and Maksim Grebnev.  Women’s Doubles went to Miu Hirano and Miyuu Kihara.  And Mixed Doubles was another Russian pair – with Evgeny Tikhonov and Maria Panfilova losing only one game in four wins.

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