Osaka, Japan · April 23 - May 6, 2001

Friday, May 4, 2001
Day Twelve of the Worlds

China wins Mixed Doubles; Men's Singles to Quarterfinals, Women's Singles to Semifinals, Men's Doubles to All-Chinese Final

By Larry Hodges

This is as good a time as any to point out that this has been about the best run and best organized tournament that I've ever been to. Everything has worked like clockwork, and every detail has been thought out - other than having a soft drink machine in the press room!

You may not have been here today, but you can still see the action in the photo gallery of today's matches by Julian Waters.

Mixed Doubles

Here’s Tim Boggan’s short write-up of the semifinals of Mixed Doubles. (His feature article on this and the finals will appear tomorrow.)

Mixed Doubles Semifinals
By Tim Boggan

Of the two mixed doubles semis matches, only one was of interest to spectators, and that of course was NOT the match between the two Chinese teams - won in four, 18,-19,18,14, by Qin Zhijian/Yang Ying over Zhan Jian/Bia Yang, which was played to near spectator silence.

The companion semis – won 19,-16,19,15 by South Korea’s Oh Sang Eun/Kim Moo Kyo in four with considerable help from Liu Guoliang/Sun Jin - drew much South Korean support, first roars of encouragement, then serene smiles.

Mixed Doubles Final
There isn’t a whole lot to report – the all-penhold Chinese team of Qin Zhijian/Yang Ying easily defeated the all-shakehand South Korean team of Oh Sang Eun/Kim Moo Kyo, 15,15,15. More on this in Tim’s feature article tomorrow.

Three events have finished - Men's and Women's Teams, and Mixed Doubles. China won all three. Men's Doubles is also an all-Chinese final. So, so far, it's China 4, World 0!

Men's Singles

The draws for the 8ths came out rather interesting; seven of the eight matches were Asia vs. Europe match-ups, with the lone exception the Waldner-Samsonov match. Since Asia was favored in most of these (and would win all seven of them), there was grumbling about Waldner and Samsonov playing each other so early. How did this happen that the two Europeans that are, if not the best Europeans, at least the best against Asian players, were playing so early? Samsonov, ranked #1 in the world a year ago, had dropped to #8, and once-so-mighty Waldner had dropped to #11. It would have been more interesting if these two had been separated, but that’s the luck of the draw. The luck of the draw – and their drop in the rankings recently – is why one quarter of the draw appeared so powerful, with Kong Linghui, Waldner and Samsonov all in one quarter. 

Sweden's Jorgen Persson. Copyright 2001 by Tong Lee.

Wang Liqin d. Jorgen Persson, -20,17,16,16
Thus ended the “Whoever beats Gatien wins Men’s Singles” theory. But Persson put up quite a battle, coming back to win the first from down 17-20, and battling to near the end each game. It was basically a battle of Wang’s more powerful game versus the Swede’s experience and all-around skills. 

The scores don’t who how close it really was as each game was marked by strings of points won in a row by the winner, with the winner of the first three games winning the last five points in row each time, and the last game being even more wacky! For illustration (with Wang’s scores on the left):

However, a little investigation shows that these streaks were somewhat related to who was serving. In the streaks shown above, the server scored 27 times, the receiver 9.  

Persson said, "With my experience I should have the advantage when the game is close - but instead I did not take the opportunities I got. After winning the second and third games he could play more freely and then he is a difficult opponent. Will I play in the Worlds in 2003? After a tournament like this I don't feel like stopping. The individual events in Paris could still be a possibility."

Kim Taek Soo eyes the ball. Copyright 2001 by Tong Lee.

Kim Taek Soo (KOR) d. Zoran Primorac (CRO), 16,17,16
No matter what Primorac did, Kim seemed to do it better. Kim had more power, more mobility, and even fished and lobbed better. Primorac had a better backhand, but it was mostly matched up against Kim’s constant forehands from all over. Primorac kept the games in reach all three games, and so the games were competitive to the end – but Primorac was always struggling just to stay in range, and that was all he could do. In the first, Primorac was down 15-16 when Kim pulled away, 18-15, 19-16, 21-16. In the second, Primorac actually took the lead at 15-14, but Kim ran off four in a row (18-15), and won 21-17. In the third, Kim led 11-9, 14-11, 15-13, 17-14, 19-14, 21-16.

As this match came to an end, someone came by giving out fancy and colorful glossy brochures for the 2004 World Team Championships in Qatar. (The decision was made just days ago – and the brochures are already out!) In it was a picture of Primorac defeating Kim in the 2001 Qatar Open Final.

Liu Guoliang (CHN) d. Adrian Crisan (ROM), 12,10,11
Liu hasn’t played well since the introduction of the 40mm ball, and his chances here were discounted by many. HOWEVER … after watching this match, it’s a whole new ball game, and Liu figures big in it. Liu went up 6-0 in the first, and never looked back. It’s likely Crisan (world #48) isn’t experienced against pips-out penhold play like Liu’s, but Liu was basically killing anything at will. The match took under 25 minutes to play – the other seven eighths matches in the men’s all took over 45 minutes each.

Chiang Peng-Lung d. Timo Boll (GER), 18,16,18
Boll led 18-17 in both the first and third games, and lost four in a row both times. This match was closer than it appeared, and if Boll had made a few key shots at key times, he’s up 2-1 in games. (He even missed an easy pop-up from down 18-19 in third.) Or perhaps Chiang is simply stronger under pressure – or Boll is not? This was a match full of “what ifs.” 

Ma Lin (CHN) d. Joerg Rosskopf (GER), 14,10,-21,18
For two games, the much faster penhold looper Ma Lin rolled all over Rosskopf and his great lefty two-winged shakehands shot-making abilities. But Rosskopf got hot in the third, counterlooping winners off anything, often right off the bounce. Rosskopf led 20-13 – and you guessed it – Ma Lin, serving at the end, won seven in a row to deuce it! Rosskopf then serve and lofted a soft loop, which Ma ripped (eight in a row) to go up match point. Then, Ma serves, Rosskopf pops it up, and Ma pulverizes the ball – but Rosskopf, from right over the table, makes a miracle block – not a reflex block, it happened too fast to react, so Rosskopf must have anticipated or gotten lucky – and it’s 21-all. Ma serve and loops into the net, then Rosskopf blocks back a powerful Ma loop for a clean winner – and we’re in the fourth, and we’ve got a real match on our hands!

Ma takes early 4-1, 11-6, 16-11 leads, and seems to make game four like the first two games. But Rosskopf scores four in a row to get to 16-15. Then Ma scores four in a row to get to 20-15 match point, with Rosskopf serving. Rosskopf serves and rips a winner, 20-16 – and Ma calls a timeout. Rosskopf serve and rips another winner, 20-17. Then Ma drops one short, Rosskopf is forced to push, and Ma rips one – and Rosskopf rips a counterloop winner! 20-18! But Rosskopf seems to let his next serve get away – it goes long, and Rosskopf seems to freeze as Ma loops it. Rosskopf makes a futile behind-the-back attempt to counter it, but the match is over. (In an earlier match, he apparently had made a behind-the-back return.)

Liu Guozheng (CHN) d. Werner Schlager (AUT), 20,-20,17,10
This is a shot-making extravaganza, as both can rip loops from both sides at any time. Both used down-the-line backhand loops quite a bit to catch the other off guard.

Schlager led 20-18 in the first two games – but Liu deuced both games, and won the first. So instead of being up 2-0, it’s all tied up. In the third, Liu goes up 15-10 – but Schlager scores all five on his serve, 15-all. Then Schlager leads 15-16. But Liu gets the next four in a row, and wins 21-17. The fourth game is all Liu, with Schlager looking disgusted at blowing so many leads. Down 10-20, Schlager served under his leg. (Liu looped a winner off it to end the match.)  

Schlager said this about how to keep up with the Chinese: "You need specialized coaches to teach styles and techniques from the very beginning, and then we must create possibilities for more young players to turn professional. Look at the way the Chinese can concentrate fully on table tennis and you will know why they are so strong."

Four Swedish fans cheer for Waldner and Persson. Both lost - thus the grim looks. Copyright 2001 by Larry Hodges

Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) d. Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE), 8,14,18
This was the only match that wasn’t Asia vs. Europe. Most predictions were that Waldner wasn’t playing well anymore, and that it was Samsonov’s time. Waldner had won the last time they’d played, in the quarterfinals of the Olympics. However, this time Samsonov came out fast, and Waldner couldn’t seem to do anything the first two games. In the third, Samsonov again runs away with it, going up 17-11. Waldner gets two (17-13), but then Samsonov serve and backhand loops, with Waldner missing a counterloop, and it’s 18-13 Samsonov. With anyone else, the match would probably be over – yet, with Waldner there, many of us suspected that it wasn’t over. It wasn’t. Waldner scores the next two, 15-18. Samsonov serve and loops one, and Waldner misses a counterloop, 15-19. Then Samsonov dead-blocks a Waldner loop, and Waldner misses a loop – a classic Waldner technique by Samsonov! Waldner serves at 15-20. He starts off with typical Waldner magic – a down-the-line ace that Samsonov can only wave at, 16-20. Then Waldner serve and loops, and several shots later Samsonov misses, 17-20. Then Samsonov loops Waldner’s serve off (a net-ticker) and it’s 18-20. Now everyone’s watching! But there’s only so much magic in Waldner … he serve and loops off a net-ticker. (If the ball had crossed the net a quarter inch higher, we’re probably at 19-20.) Is it the end of an era? Has the torch been passed from the best European of the past decade to the best one of the next decade?  

After the match, Samsonov said, "I was very concentrated, and I think I was playing extremely well - perhaps Waldner wasn't at his best, compared to the Olympics. I didn't think about the fact that I lost to him the previous two times and of course being up 2-0 my confidence was growing."

Waldner said, "It is simple. Vladi was playing excellent and I made a lot of mistakes. Is this is my last Worlds? Honestly, I am a little fed up with that question. I don't know, nobody knows."

Kong Linghui (CHN) d. Patrick Chila (FRA), 14,9,12
Like Liu Guoliang, Kong hasn’t been playing well recently. However, he may have gotten back into it here. Chila’s good, but he wasn’t in Kong’s class this match. Kong attacked and defended at will.

Quarterfinal Men’s Singles Match-ups
Their head-to-head international record is in bold afterwards

• Wang Liqin (CHN) vs. Kim Taek Soo (KOR) Wang 3, Kim 1 (Last time: Wang d. Kim 3-1 in quarterfinals of July, Brazil Open)

•  Liu Guoliang (CHN) vs. Chiang Peng-Lung (TPE)  Liu 7 Chiang 0 (Last time: Liu d. Chiang 3-0 in quarterfinals of July, 2000 Brazil Open)

• Ma Lin (CHN) vs. Liu Guozheng (CHN)  Liu 1 Ma 3 (Last time: Liu d. Ma 3-0 in quarterfinal of November, 2000 Swedish Open.)

• Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) vs. Kong Linghui (CHN) Vladimir 5 Kong 6 (Last time: Samsonov d. Kong 3-0 in semifinals of July, 2000 Brazil Open.)

Women’s Singles Quarterfinals

(Note – Tim Boggan is doing the primary coverage of the women’s events and mixed doubles for USATT Magazine, but most of his feature write-ups won’t come out until later. So my coverage of the men’s events will be more extensive, since those are the events I am doing the primary coverage for.)

Wang Nan (CHN) d. Li Nan (CHN), 13,12,15
Zhang Yining (CHN) d. Niu Jianfeng (CHN), 14,-17,18,-17,12
The four women on the top half of the quarterfinal draw – those above – were all Chinese. Somehow, all-Chinese matches (or other matches between players of one country) just don’t hold as much interest as matches between different countries. Wang Nan showed showed why she’s #1 in the world – and unlike on the men, where it seems like the #1 player changes every few weeks from among a group of half a dozen or more – she’s been #1 for quite some time, dominating since the retirement of Deng Yaping. (Tim will give more coverage of the above later on.)

Kim Yun Mi (PRK) d. Mihaela Steff (ROM), 20,11,15
Steff is the last European left, and many thought that with her devastating two-winged looping attack, she’d make it to the final (where she’s be a huge underdog to, presumably, Wang Nan). Her opponent plays a unique game. Kim is a penholder with long pips on the back of her racket. She plays nearly all backhands with the long pips, chop-blocking dead balls over and over. She both attacks and blocks with the forehand inverted side.

In the first game, Steff leads 20-19, but she loops, Kim blocks with the long pips, and Steff loops it into the net, 20-all. Then Kim serve and backhand hits with the long pips, and Steff hits it into the net, 20-21. Steff serve and loops, but hits the long-pipped block return into the net with her backhand. It’s obvious watching that Steff is not comfortable against this type of game – not too many players play this way in Europe.

In game two, Steff completely falls apart, while Kim plays very steady. Kim goes up 13-2, wins 21-11. In the third, at 11-all, Kim runs off six in a row, and it’s over.

Lin Ling (CHN) d. Liu Jia (AUT), 17,18,21
Lin is a classic shakehands looper, covering much of the table with her forehand. She usually hits her backhand, but can also backhand loop. Liu is more of a close-to-the-table blocker. Although she has a strong serve & follow loop, she blocks and hits in most rallies. Lin leads most of all three games. In the third, Lin serves from up 19-16, but a missed loop, a net ball and a nice block by Liu, and it’s 19-all. Lin switches to a backhand serve, and serve and rips – 20-19. She backhand serves and rips again, but this time Liu makes a nice block, and it’s 20-all. The Lin is on the defense, lobbing over and over before finally missing, 20-21. But that’s as far as Liu gets, as Lin serve and rips, Liu backhands off, and Lin serve and rips again.  

Liu said, "She was better than me, that's it. The Chinese are so much better prepared and organized than we are in Europe."

Semifinal Women’s Singles Match-ups

• Wang Nan (CHN) vs. Zhang Yining (CHN)

• Lin Ling (CHN) vs. Kim Yun Mi (PRK)

Head-to-Head Records of the Women's Semifinalists

• Lin Ling and Kim Yun Mi have never played.

• Wang Nan and Zhang Yining have played four times in the last two years in international matches, splitting them. Wang won in the quarterfinals of the 2000 China Open (3-0) and in the final of the 1999 World Championships (3-2). Zhang won in the final of the Pro-Tour GD-Final (3-2) and in the quarterfinals of the 1999 Austrian Open (3-0).

The banners and flags hanging over the main arena. Copyright 2001 by Tong Lee.

Men’s Doubles

There were no Men’s Doubles matches today, but the all-Chinese final between Kong Linghui/Liu Guoliang and Wang Liqin/Yan Sen is tomorrow. Here’s a preview.

Kong Linghui/Liu Guoliang Men’s Doubles titles

• 1996 Olympics Gold Medalists

• 2000 Olympics Silver Medalists

• 1997 and 1999 World Champions

• 1996 Asian Champions

• 1996 Asian Games Champions

• 2000 U.S. Open Champions

• 2000 Japan Open Champions

• 2000 Brazil Open Champions

• 1999 Austrian Open Champions

• 1998 Malaysian Open Champions

• 1998 Australian Open Champions

• 1997 Brazil Open Champions

• 1997 China Open Champions

• 1996 China Open Champions

Wang Liqin/Yan Sen Men’s Doubles titles

• 2000 Olympics Gold Medalists

• 1999 World Champion Finalists

• 2000 Olympic Qualification Champions

• 2000 China Open Champions

• 1999 China Open Champions

• 1998 Qatar Open Champions

• 1997 Japan Open Champions

• 1997 Yugoslavia Open Champions

• 1996 French Open Champions

• Runner-up in eight other Pro Tour events

Head-to-Head International Matches

Kong Linghui/Liu Guoliang leads series, 7-3

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