Other Events | 9 Nov 2018

Liam PITCHFORD over Timo BOLL to the semis

Photo: Courtesy ITTF

Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum LIEBHERR Austrian Open

Liam PITCHFORD from England has recorded one of the biggest victories in his career, defeating Germany’s Timo BOLL, actual world no. 3, 4:2 (11:6, 11:6, 5:11, 8:11, 13:11, 12:10) in the quarter-finals of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum LIEBHERR Austrian Open in Linz. The 25-year-old surely will remember this year as the best one in his professional career so far, bearing in mind that he upset three top class players in three months: actual Olympic and World champion MA Long at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte, former two-times European champion Dimitrij OVTCHAROV at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour, Czech Open and, now, seven-times gold European champion Timo BOLL, three-times winner in Linz.

PITCHFORD also won bronze medal with his national team at the ITTF Team World Cup in London earlier this year. He reached semis at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour, Czech Open, held in late August, by beating top seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. Last month he climbed on his best ever place at the ITTF World Ranking list, being no. 23 (now 24).

Both, PITCHFORD and BOLL entered Round of 16 as the last two representatives of Old Continent. Englishman has prevailed against Koyo KANAMITSU from Japan in five games, while German star overcame China’s ZHENG Peifeng after six sets.

Clash between PITCHFORD and BOLL was very important for both players, as they wanted to provide the place at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, which commence in Incheon next Thursday. With this win PITCHFORD has a chance to overtake BOLL, currently placed at the no 16th on Men’s Singles Standings. But, England’s player needs one more high-level performance in the semis, against Japan’s Tomokazu HARIMOTO or China’s XU Xin.

Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS (world no. 19) suffered by the hands of China’s LIU Shiwen, current world no. 6, in straight games of the Women’s Singles Round of 16. Quarter-final stage saw six out of eight players from China and one of the most exciting clashes so far in Linz: WANG Manyu vs. DING Ning (no. 2 seed) 4:3.

Ovidiu IONESCU (Romania)/Alvaro ROBLES (Spain) have defeated Martin ALLEGRO/Florent LAMBIET (Belgium) at the Men’s Doubles quarter-finals, but lost to Japan’s Masataka MORIZONO/Yuya OSHIMA in the penultimate stage.

Three European pairs, Katarzyna GRZIBOWSKA-FRANC/Natalia PARTYKA (Poland), Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia)/Hana MATELOVA (Czech Republic) and Elizabeta SAMARA/Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) have lost their quarter-final matches from strong Asian women’s doubles.