(by Steve Hopkins)

Seven players in the World Top 25 signed in to play in the WTT Contender series event in Rio de Janeiro.  That included Brazilian Hugo Calderano as the top seed and favorite, as well as Jang Woojin of Korea, Germany’s top three players (Ovtcharov, Franziska, and Qiu), Sweden’s Mattias Falck (who is back up to No. 22 after falling in the rankings), and Chuang Chih-Yuan of Taipei.

Of the top 4 seeds, only Jang Woojin reached the Semifinals, and out of the seven highly ranked seeds, only Woojin and Falck have reached the Final Four.  Of the top seeds, Calderano was among the first to fall.  Korea’s Cho Seungmin dropped the first game, but then won three in a row to eliminate the local favorite on the first day 3-1.  Cho is still alive, not just winning the first match, but also upsetting Simon Gauzy 3-2 in the Round of 16, and upsetting Patrick Franziska 3-1 in the Quarterfinals.  Cho will face Japan’s Sora Matsushima in the Semifinals.  Japan’s 16 year old Matsushima has also run off a list of upsets, beginning with a 3-1 win over Marcos Freitas, then a 3-1 win over Lee Sang Su, and finally a 3-2 victory over Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

In the other half of the draw, Falck and Woojin each prevailed without major upsets.  Falck defeated Anders Lind 3-0, then Pucar 3-2, and the overcame Dang Qiu 3-2.  Woojin defeated Robles in the first round, then topped Jules Rolland and Chuang Chih-Yuan to reach the Semifinals.  Both Semifinal matches are scheduled for Saturday.

In Women’s Singles, top seeded Hina Hayata has cruised through the Semis.  She will face Bernadette Szocs.  Szocs dominated Chen Szu-Yu 3-0 in the Quarterfinal match – a minor upset.  In the other half of the draw, Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi has taken advantage of home field (and perhaps the home crowd) to upset Elizabeta Samara and then to advance through to the Semifinals.  She will face Sweden’s Linda Bergstrom.  Adriana Diaz fell in the Round of 16 to Kim Nayeong 3-1 (Naeyeong lost to Bergstrom in the Quarters).

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