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Jonathan GROTH ready to increase his level
CCB Europe Top 16 Cup Montreux February 2-3 Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH enjoyed his success in Montreux last year winning bronze medal at the 2018 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup. Now seeded at the no. 6 he would like to repeat it in the same Switzerland’s city at the event to be held on February 2nd and 3rd. We spoke about it with the left-handed player of Russian club UMMC… Two years ago you had lost in the opening round last year you got the third place and what is your target at the 2019 Euro Top 16 Cup? “I hope I can make a performance similar to last year where I played some of the best table tennis I have played in my career.” How do you see the list of 2019 favorites who is the top candidate for the title? “I see Timo Boll as the biggest favorite for the title.” What is your personal goal in 2019? “To increase my level in the matches where I’m not playing so well. So I can have a more stable season.” Are you satisfied with your current shape? “I have only played one match so far in 2019. So I do not know exactly how my shape is. Time will tell.” Two months ago GROTH climbed to his best ITTF ranking spot so far no. 15. Currently he occupies no. 18. In men’s singles will play: Timo BOLL (Germany) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) Mattias FALCK (Sweden) Liam PITCHFORD (England) Vladimir SAMSONOV (Belarus) Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) Simon GAUZY (France) Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) Tiago APOLONIA (Portugal) KOU Lei (Ukraine) Ovidiu IONESCU (Romania) Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece) Lionel WEBER (Switzerland). Women’s Event: Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) LI Jie (Netherlands) Petrissa SOLJA (Germany) Matilda EKHOLM (Sweden) LI Qian (Poland) Georgina POTA (Hungary) Britt EERLAND (Netherlands) Polina MIKHAILOVA (Russia) NI Xia Lian (Luxembourg) Nina MITTELHAM (Germany) Natalia PARTYKA (Poland) Hana MATELOVA (Czech Republic) Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) Rachel MORET (Switzerland). Tickets are available here.
Chinese clean sweep three months before the World Championships in Budapest
Three months before the World Championships begin in Budapest the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open concludes with a Chinese clean sweep.Make that 10 ITTF World Tour titles for CHEN Meng after Women’s Singles success in Budapest. The first ITTF event of the year is in the books as China’s finest stole the show in Budapest claiming all five gold medals on offer at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open. Fans were treated to plenty of jaw-dropping shots and epic rallies over the past six days (qualification rounds 15-16 Jan. & main draw 17-20 Jan.) setting the scene nicely for when the biggest Table Tennis event of all kicks off in Budapest: the Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Championships taking place in exactly three months’ time between 21-28 April. CHEN Meng confirmed her status as the undisputed form player on the women’s circuit wrapping up the first trophy of 2019 just one month on from celebrating a second straight success at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Incheon. The Chinese star currently ranked 4th in the world showed spirit aplenty as she came from behind twice to overcome compatriot and top seed ZHU Yuling in the final by four games to two (9-11 11-7 11-13 13-11 11-4 11-5). In doing so CHEN Meng recorded her 10th career ITTF World Tour title: a fantastic milestone for a player who has often been overlooked by Chinese selectors for previous World Championships but would now surely be one of the first names on their list. “We (ZHU Yuling and I) have played each other many many times. I am pleased to win the title and I’ll do my best to raise or at least maintain my level of performances for the next competitions ” said CHEN Meng Could LIN Gaoyuan finally be emerging from the shadows of his Chinese peers? The 23-year-old world no. 4 has been knocking on the door for silverware of late and was runner-up at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Incheon. Emerging from the disappointment of defeat to Tomokazu HARIMOTO that night in Korea the ‘Dark Knight’ stormed to two consecutive 4-0 victories on Sunday beating compatriots XU Xin in the semi-final (14-12 11-9 11-6 11-9) and WANG Chuqin (13-11 12-10 11-8 11-9) to secure his second ever ITTF World Tour title. “I am really happy about winning the first event of 2019. Such a good start is a positive sign for the rest of the year for me ” explained LIN Gaoyuan. Beaten finalist WANG Chuqin had impressed greatly en route to Sunday’s showpiece match. Ranked 83rd in the world the 18-year-old defeated world no. 6 Hugo CALDERANO (BRA) and no. 1 FAN Zhendong (CHN). He is now a player to watch out for at upcoming events on the 2019 ITTF World Tour. In Adam SZUDI and Szandra PERGEL Hungary had two players to light up the tournament and provide a source of pride for the host nation. The pair defeated HO Kwan Kit & LEE Ho Ching (HKG) Tristan FLORE & Laura GASNIER (FRA) and Alexander SHIBAEV & Polina MIKHAILOVA (RUS) dropping just two games in the process to reach Saturday’s final. At the final hurdle XU Xin & LIU Shiwen (CHN) ultimately had too much in their locker for the Hungarians to handle as they romped to a 3-0 victory (11-3 11-6 11-5). Nonetheless silver medals for SZUDI & PERGEL were the proof of a fantastic campaign and a possible sign of things to come from the pair. In their very first international appearance as a partnership 5th seeds XU Xin & LIANG Jingkun (CHN) defeated compatriots and 2nd seeds FAN Zhendong & LIN Gaoyuan over five games of high-intensity Table Tennis (11-5 9-11 11-7 5-11 11-8). “LIANG is a very young player and after he lost to me yesterday (in the Men’s Singles) he did very well today. He prepared well plus I encouraged him a lot ” said XU Xin “The encouragement I received from XU was very important. He has been a champion with many Doubles’ partners. I feel honoured to be playing alongside him ” added LIANG Jingkun WANG Manyu & ZHU Yuling (CHN) emerged champions in the Women’s Doubles competition in Budapest. It was only their second campaign as a pair on the international stage but you would not have imagined so as they combined formidably to despatch of compatriots CHEN Meng & SUN Yingsha 3-1 in the final (8-11 11-7 15-13 11-2). QUICK LINKS: Match Highlights Photo Gallery Flash Quotes Live Blog Media Kit Social Media: Facebook Instagram Twitter Weibo Youtube
Gold for LIN Gaoyuan and CHEN Meng
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open 15-20 January LIN Gaoyuan and CHEN Meng are the crowned champions of the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open in Budapest concluded today Sunday 20th January. They emerged successful in the all all-Chinese finals of the respective Men’s and Women’s singles events: No. 3 seed LIN beat 18-year-old WANG Chuqin in straight games while second seeded CHEN prevailed against no. 1 ZHU Yuling reversing the score from 1-2 to 4-2. “I am really happy winning the title in the first competition of the year. Such a good start is a positive sign for the rest of the year for me. I was prepared for a long match in the final as we always play tight matches.” LIN Gaoyuan who secured his second World Tour win after 2017 Austrian Open. WANG Chuqin must be proud of his accomplishment bearing in mind that he commenced the event from the qualification tournament. Moreover he upset world no. 1 FAN Zhendong in the semi-final contest after full seven games. CHEN who won her 10th title in 13 World Tour finals explained after the Women’s Singles final game: “We’ve played each other many many times. I am pleased to win the title and I will do my best to raise or at least keep up my performance for the next competitions.” More information: here Quick links Daily Schedule Knock-outs Reports Flash Quotes LIVE Blog Media Kit Media accreditation
Silver for Adam SZUDI and Szandra PERGEL
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open 15-20 January Host mixed pair Adam SZUDI/Szandra PERGEL won silver medal at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open as they lost to China’s XU Xin/LIU Shiwen in straight games of the gold medal contest. Day after he upset Hong Kong’s WONG Chun Ting actual world no. 8 Russian player Alexander SHIBAEV has beaten by no. 1 seed FAN Zhendong in five games of the Men’s Singles quarter-finals. Belarus Vladimir SAMSONOV lost to FAN’s compatriot LIN Gaoyuan in six sets in spite of having 2-1 lead. All three last games have been decided by a narrow margin. Like in the Women’s Singles event all-Chinese semi-finals will be held (tomorrow January 20th) in the Men’s Singles competition: FAN Zhendong vs. WANG Chuqin XU Xin vs. LIN Gaoyuan. Top four seeds have been involved in the Women’s Singles semi-finals as no. 1 ZHU Yuling beat no. 4 LIU Shiwen while no. 2 CHEN Meng prevailed against no. 3 WANG Manyu. ZHU managed to reverse the score from 1-3 to 4-3 against LIU taking ultimate set 12:10. Regarding double events two all-Chinese finals were held in the Budapest Olympic Hall. LIANG Jingkun and XU Xin overcame FAN Zhendong and LIN Gaoyuan after full five games while WANG Manyu and ZHU Yuling beat CHEN Meng and SUN Yingsha in four sets. More information: here Quick links Daily Schedule Knock-outs Reports Flash Quotes LIVE Blog Media Kit Media accreditation
Panagiotis GIONIS aiming semifinal in Montreux
CCB Europe Top 16 Cup For a sixth time Greek star Panagiotis GIONIS will play at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux (2nd and 3rd February). It will be for a second time in the row in Switzerland but this time GIONIS aim higher position than last year. Last year in Montreux GIONIS was fifth now first aim is to reach semifinal and then to try to go even higher. “My goal is to enter the first four which will qualify me for the World Cup. I was 5th in Europe Top 16 last year to secure the place in the World Cup last year and I want to make it even better this season. I know that it is difficult and the draw will also play a role but I am in good shape and I can claim very good results” said the top Greek player. Panagiotis GIONIS creates his own tradition in Top 16 of Europe as he entered the invitations for the 6th consecutive season. He made his first appearance in 2014 after he won bronze medal in Singles and silver in the Teams Event at the European Championship in Austria. Since then he is regular participant. In fact he is walking in the footsteps of Kallinikos KREANGA who had made two big streaks in his total of 11 appearances. The winner of Top 12 in 2011 in Liège played constantly in the competition from 1996 to 2001 and after 2007 to 2011 marking many successes. GIONIS’ best achievement is bronze medal which he won in Baku in 2015. In the fight for positions 3-4 he had defeated the French Simon GAUZY. The great defensive player is now in Budapest for the World Tour of Hungary and it will make a solid rehearsal for Top 16 and the Table Tennis Champions League Men quarter-finals. There his team Bogoria a champion of the Polish League will play on January 24 in the first quarter-final against his former team German Borussia Düsseldorf. In men’s singles at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux will play: Timo BOLL (Germany) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) Mattias FALCK (Sweden) Liam PITCHFORD (England) Vladimir SAMSONOV (Belarus) Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) Simon GAUZY (France) Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) Tiago APOLONIA (Portugal) KOU Lei (Ukraine) Oividiu IONESCU (Romania) Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece) Lionel WEBER (Switzerland). Women’s Event: Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) LI Jie (Netherlands) Petrissa SOLJA (Germany) Matilda EKHOLM (Sweden) LI Qian (Poland) Georgina POTA (Hungary) Britt EERLAND (Netherlands) Polina MIKHAILOVA (Russia) NI Xia Lian (Luxembourg) Nina MITTELHAM (Germany) Natalia PARTYKA (Poland) Hana MATELOVA ( Czech Republic) Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) Rachel MORET (Switzerland). Tickets are available here.
Hungarian Open: SHIBAEV vs. FAN in the quarter-finals
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open 15-20 January Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia upset Hong Kong’s WONG Chun Ting actual world no. 8 to set up Men’s Singles quarter-final clash with world no. 1 China’s FAN Zhendong at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open. UMMC player won in six games as well as FAN did against CHUANG Chih-Yuan from Chinese Taipei. France’s Simon GAUZY suffered at the hands of China’s WANG Chuqin after six games in spite of having 2-0 lead. Two players from Bundesliga met in the Round of 16 as Ochsenhausen’s Hugo CALDERANO from Brazil overcame Borussia’s Kristian KARLSSON from Sweden. Actual world no. 16 Liam PITCHFORD from England lost to no. 17 Korea’s LIM Jonghoon after full seven games. Englishman led 3-2 but next two sets lost by a narrow margin. Vladimir SAMSONOV reached quarter-finals without playing (twice w.o. wins QIU Dang and Patrick FRANZISKA). Portugal’s YU Fu managed to reverse the score from 0-3 to 4-3 against Germany’s Petrissa SOLJA to reach Women’s Singles quarter-finals. In the next stage YU suffered at the hands of WANG Manyu world no. 6 from China therefore all-Chinese semi-finals will be held: ZHU Yuling vs. LIU Shiwen CHEN Meng vs. WANG Manyu. Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS has defeated Germany’s SHAN Xiaona in straight games to progress among the best eight but then she lost to no. 2 seed China’s CHEN Meng current world no. 4. CHEN’s team mate from China’s National Team ZHU Yuling no. 1 seed at the Hungarian Open secured her place in the semi-final as she recorded two wins in straight games today January 18th. Men’s Doubles quarter-finals saw victory of Tristan FLORE/Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) over Benedikt DUDA/Ruwen FILUS (Germany). French pair lost to China’s LIANG Jingkun and XU Xin in straight games of the semis. Regarding Women Doubles event Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA and Bernadete SZOCS were not able to play (w.o. because of SAMARA’s injury) against no. 1 seed WANG Manyu/ZHU Yuling from China. Host pair Adam SZUDI/Szandra PERGEL reached final in the Mixed Doubles event as they beat Russia’s Alexander SHIBAEV/Polina MIKHAILOVA in straight games. They will play for the title against China’s XU Xin/LIU SHIWEN. More information: here Quick links Daily Schedule Knock-outs Reports Flash Quotes LIVE Blog Media Kit Media accreditation
MIKHAILOVA sees many favourites in Montreux
CCB Europe Top-16 Cup Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia is looking forward playing her fifth CCB Europe Top-16 Cup in Montreux (2nd and 3rd February). She is seeded at the position no. 10 at the prestige tournament in Switzerland. Currently she plays at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open in Budapest. In four consecutive appearance you didn’t reach quarter-finals so are you feel ready to do it at 2019 CCB Europe Top-16 Cup? “Yes it will be my fifth time on Euro Top-16 and off course I would like to cross this barrier and qualify to quarterfinals and maybe if possible to a World Cup.” How would you describe the last year in terms of your results are you satisfied with 2018? “Regarding my last year it was not the best one and not so stabile. Some tournaments I played well but some not so good and lost to players who were much more down on ranking than me.” Whom do you consider as favourites in Montreux and why? “In Montreux all players are dangerous. Regarding favourites maybe SAMARA (she is always very dangerous good player with very good serve and spin) SZOCS (who was in top form all last season and who will defend title) LI Jie Li Qian (both are very good defenders and always on top positions in Europe) SOLJA (who came back and recover from injury) POLCANOVA (who improves so much and has first position now in ranking from Europe) … But really all players if come in best shape can make some upsets.” What are your personal aims in 2019? “My aim is to get medal in any discipline in European Games in Minsk also Team European Championship to get mixed doubles world ranking and off course to improve my table tennis.” What do you expect from 2019 ETTU Cup and quarter-final games against Lille? “In ETTU Cup off course my aim is to win it. We were a bit unlucky with a group in Champions League so in ETTU Cup we will give our best to win it.” In men’s singles will play: Timo BOLL (Germany) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) Mattias FALCK (Sweden) Liam PITCHFORD (England) Vladimir SAMSONOV (Belarus) Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) Simon GAUZY (France) Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) Tiago APOLONIA (Portugal) KOU Lei (Ukraine) Ovidiu IONESCU (Romania) Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece) Lionel WEBER (Switzerland). Women’s Event: Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) LI Jie (Netherlands) Petrissa SOLJA (Germany) Matilda EKHOLM (Sweden) LI Qian (Poland) Georgina POTA (Hungary) Britt EERLAND (Netherlands) Polina MIKHAILOVA (Russia) NI Xia Lian (Luxembourg) Nina MITTELHAM (Germany) Natalia PARTYKA (Poland) Hana MATELOVA (Czech Republic) Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) Rachel MORET (Switzerland). Tickets are available here.
SHAN Xiaona defeats DOO Hoi Kem
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open 15-20 January Germany’s SHAN Xiaona has recorded one of her biggest victories after last year’s childbirth as she beat current world no. 14 DOO Hoi Kem in the Women’s Singles Round of 32 at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open. Berlin’s player who returned to the professional table tennis two months ago has defeated Hong Kong’s representative in six games. SHAN will face actual CCB Europe Top-16 Cup champion Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS who prevailed against Chinese Taipei’s CHENG Hsien-Tzu in seven games. SZOCS made amazing comeback against world no. 25 taking last two sets by a narrow margin (16:14 15:13) after 1:11 in the fifth one. Two more European players will play one against another in the Round of 16 YU Fu from Portugal and Petrissa SOLJA from Germany. YU beat host Dora MADARASZ in six games while SOLJA had no mercy against the world no. 16 Sofia POLCANOVA from Austria – 4:0 (11:9 13:11 11:1 11:6). Netherland’s LI Jie and Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA beat two players from Asia WANG Yidi (no. 50) and ZENG Jian (no. 52) respectively. SAMARA is going to play against world no. 5 LIU Shiwen from China. Men’s Round of 32 has brought many thrilling matches and one of them saw France’s Simon GAUZY victory over Croatia’s WEI Shihao in seven games. Kristian KARLLSON (Sweden) beat Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece) in straight games while Russian player Alexander SHIBAEV continued his winning streak from Preliminary stage as he defeated host Majoros BENCE. One more clash has been concluded after four sets when Liam PITCHFORD eliminated YU Ziyang from China. Patrick FRANZISKA from Germany prevailed against Chinese ZHOU Qihao to set up the encounter with Belarus star Vladimir SAMSONOV in the Round of 16. Kazakhstan’s Kirill GERASSIMENKO showed big fight against no. 1 seed FAN Zhendong from China managing to win two sets. Men’s Doubles quarter-finals will see one all-European clash between Tristan FLORE/Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) and Benedikt DUDA/Ruwen FILUS (Germany). Regarding Women’s Doubles quarter-finals one of most successful European pairs on the World Tour Mattilda EKHOLM (Sweden)/Georgina POTA (Hungary) will play against no. 2 seed from Hong Kong DOO Hoi Kem/LEE Ho Ching. More information: here Quick links Daily Schedule Knock-outs Reports Flash Quotes LIVE Blog Media Kit Media accreditation
Duda BENEDIKT sets up clash with world no. 2 XU Xin
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open 15-20 January Preliminary Round 4 at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open was concluded tonight (January 16th) in the Budapest Olympic Hall providing additional eight places for the European players in the Men’s Round of 32. Five Women’s players from Old Continent have booked their spots in the main draw which commences tomorrow January 17th. The 22-year-old German QIU Dang beat Slovakia’s WANG Yang (Slovakia) in five games to set the clash with the Belarus legend Vladimir SAMSONOV. QIU’s compatriot Duda BENEDIKT overcame Russia’s Konstantin CHERNOV (Russia) in straight sets to secure its place among the best 32. His opponent will be seed no. 2 XU Xin from China current World no. 2. Former European champion Emmanuel LEBESSON surpassed strong hurdle in the Preliminary Round 3 as he beat China’s YAN An in six games. His ultimate obstacle was David REITSPIES from Czech Republic. Alexander SHIBAEV from Russia faced two big challenges but managed to eliminate both Quadri ARUNA from Nigeria in the Round 3 and Jakub DYJAS from Poland in Round 4. Ricardo WALTHER lost to Chinese YU Ziyang in seven games in spite having 3:2 lead (second set won 11:0). No. 1 seed FAN Zhendong from China awaits Kazakhstan’s Kirill GERASSIMENKO who was better than Alvaro ROBLES from Spain. Petrissa SOLJA from Germany prevailed against Szandra PERGEL from Hungary to set Women’s Singles Round 32 clash with Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA the best ranked European player (current world no. 16). Women’s Singles no. 1 seed world no. 2 ZHU Yuling commences her campaign against compatriot HE Zhuojia. Men’s Singles Preliminary Round 4 QIU Dang (Germany) – WANG Yang (Slovakia) 4:1 (11:4 11:6 11:5 9:11 11:9) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) – David REITSPIES (Czech Republic) 4:1 (11:8 11:5 13:11 7:11 11:4) Duda BENEDIKT (Germany) – Konstantin CHERNOV (Russia) 4:0 (11:3 11:4 11:6 11:4) WEI Shiao (Croatia) – Bastian STEGER (Germany) 4:1 (9:11 11:8 11:8 11:8 11:4) Kirill GERASSIMENKO (Kazakhstan) – Alvaro ROBLES (Spain) 4:1 (7:11 11:9 11:6 11:9 14:12) Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece) – Gustavo TSUBOI (Brazil) 4:3 (12:10 13:15 8:11 11:9 11:7 4:11 11:9) Truls MOREGARD (Sweden) – Florent LAMBIET (Belgium) 4:0 (12:10 11:7 11:8 13:11) Alexander SHIBAEV (Russia) – Jakub DYJAS (Poland) 4:2 (3:11 4:11 11:4 14:12 11:7 14:12) Women’s Singles Preliminary Round 4 HANA Matelova (Czech Republic) – Nadezhda BOGDANOVA (Belorussia) 4:0 (11:3 11:4 11:4 11:2) Laura GASNIER (France) – Tetyana BILENKO (Ukraine) 4:2 (11:4 8:11 7:11 11:9 11:8 11:3) Petrissa SOLJA (Germany) – Szandra PERGEL (Hungary) 4:0 (11:3 11:1 11:8 11:8) YU Fu (Portugal) – Yana NOSKOVA (Russia) 4:3 (11:7 5:11 10:12 11:8 11:7 9:11 11:4) SHAN Xiaona (Germany) – Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) 4:0 (11:8 11:6 11:6 11:4) More information: here Quick links Daily Schedule Knock-outs Reports Flash Quotes LIVE Blog Media Kit Media accreditation
