LIEBHERR 2018 Men’s World Cup in Paris
Timo BOLL and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany recorded wins in the opening round of the LIEBHERR 2018 Men’s World Cup in Paris.
For Dimitrij OVTCHAROV it was a very hard task. The no.3 seed was close to defeat against a Sweden’s Mattias FALCK the no.13 seed (11-5 4-11 7-11 13-11 5-11 12-10). Much easer Timo BOLL the no.2 seed beat Emmanuel LEBESSON of France to reach the quarterfinals(11-8 8-11 11-8 11-5 11-7).
“Emmanuel is always a dangerous opponent. I was a bit worried about getting a good start but I did it and I think I played well today. It’s awesome playing in Disneyland and in France with many enthusiastic supporters. I hope they will continue to cheer for me” said Timo BOLL
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV also said his adversary was very hard to beat.
the only previous occasion when they had met was just under two years ago at the 2016 Swedish
“Mattias was a tough opponent. We had met previously in the Swedish Open and I lost that match. He’s very unpredictable and difficult to play against. It was a super close match. Thanks for the support. Of course we’re playing in France so the French players will get plenty of backing.”
Koki NIWA the no.8 seed beat Denmark’s Jonathan Groth the no.12 seed (11-8 11-5 4-11 11-5) and thus repeated the successes enjoyed on the ITTF World Tour in Germany in 2011 and more recently at the LIEBHERR 2017 World Championships in Düsseldorf.
Japan’s Tomokazu HARIMOTO beat Korea Republic’s JEONG Sangeun the no.11 seed (11-6 11-6 11-7 11-7).
