(by Steve Hopkins)
Wang Chuqin made quick work of Tomokazu Harimoto in the Men’s Singles Final of the United States Smash in Las Vegas. Two of the games had close scores, but Chuqin was the stronger player today – and the 4-0 win is a clear statement. Wang Chuqin won the first two games before Harimoto really got started with 11-3 and 11-6 wins. The third game was tight throughout, but Chuqin won 12-10. And in the final game, it was 11-8.
Saturday, fans were treated to two epic Semifinal matches on Saturday at the United States Smash. The first matchup was Felix Lebrun and Wang Chuqin and neither player won two games in a row through all seven. Chuqin won the first, third, fifth, and the final seventh games. Then it was World No. 1 Lin Shidong against World No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto. Harimoto came out on fire – building an early lead in the first two games – and in both he maintained the lead for the win. The momentum shifted. The games had been close with Harimoto pulling away late, and now the script was reversed. For three games in a row it was Lin Shidong pulling away and finishing off Harimoto late. Shidong outlasted Harimoto for a 12-10 win, then an 11-9 win, and then a dominant 11-7 win. But Harimoto wasn’t finished. In fact, in the final two games, Harimoto scored twice as many points as the
The Women’s Singles Final today featured a pair of surprises as Chen Yi (World No. 17) will face Zhu Yuling (World No. 14) each advanced. In a tournament that featured 12 players ranked higher than either Finalist, whatever the result would be a surprise. Chen Yi’ won the first two games 11-7 and 11-8. After that, the momentum shifted to Zhu Yuling and she closed out the match winning 4 in a row. Zhu Yuling wins 4-2.
The Men’s Doubles title went to An Jaehyun and Lim Jonghoon, Women’s Doubles went to Wang Yidi and Kuai Man, and Mixed Doubles went to Lin Shidong and Kuai Man.
A pair of WTT Contender Events are set to start July 22 with one in Lagos and the other in Buenos Aires.
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