Chicago, IL · Dec. 27-29, 2003
By Tim Boggan
Serious FUN—that’s what the unprecedented four- tournaments-in-one hosted Dec. 27-29 in Chicago by Robert Blackwell was for me, and for hundreds of players, and thousands of spectators. Everyone’s efforts to come out and participate should have gladdened the hearts of those in the Windy City and the State of Illinois who’ve so successfully continued to support Killerspin. It’s historic, it’s dramatic, that these supporters recognize value in Robert’s reach beyond the clouds to the Sport’s Olympian heights, and I urge all who read this article to write and thank Chicago Mayor Daley for the sustaining encouragement he’s given Robert.
One of the complementary pleasures for many this eXtreme weekend was their sometimes raucous involvement in the flamboyant spectacle of the Sport’s best professionals giving their all to entertain the huge Dec. 29th evening crowd at the UIC Pavilion. Thousands of multi-ethnic enthusiasts, including many who’d enjoyed competing in that other Blackwell extravaganza, the Killerspin Open, were wowed—and wowed on a grand-scale by counter-counters curving around rather than over the net, or given a three-ring-circus-high by this or that champion’s lobs that stretched both ball and player’s limits from table…to courtside…to barriers-be-damned beyond. I hope all reading this are aware of the upcoming 10-week ESPN airing (in 30-minute spots) of this colorful show, with voice-over by 2004 U.S. Olympic Coach Dan Seemiller, for it’s sure to hold the attention of viewers everywhere and so bring some much-needed recognition of our Sport to the masses.
Strikingly live is the Pavilion’s roving, blinding spotlight that seems to keep a recurrent beat with the music as it flashes about the rapidly filling stands and tri-court technicians, cameramen, Aly-Salam-coordinated umpires, and anyone else connected with the action—which is everybody, for the spectators have their familiars to talk to, turn to, wave to, smile to, go to. It’s a gala time. The giant replay view screen sits observingly above all, turned on to sponsors—Illinois Bureau of Tourism, Belle Center of Chicago (dedicated to help children with disabilities), LaSalle Bank, Next Realty, the ITTF, the USATT, and of course, first and foremost, Killerspin.
The Master and Mistress of Ceremony, professional announcers, begin their well-rehearsed, smoothly brought-off routine as to how the Sport will be played tonight, but it’s sometimes difficult to hear what they’re saying amid the bustle of late arrivals filling the Arena, and many in the audience, already so informed, must have thought their perky dialogue overlong. Then amid the smoke and lights, as if from a tunnel to Fairy Tale Land, come the larger-than-life participants—as billed, 23 of the World’s best…from 14 countries. Watch out! There’s “Smackdown” Johnny Huang, “The Animal” Jean-Michel Saive, “The Beast” Kim Taek Soo, “The Tiger” Ma Lin—and of course they’re all armed…with a very attractive young woman. Except the women players—“Biba,” for example, is escorted by BBe, a Body-Builder-eXtreme who might have climbed into and out of a real wrestling ring and walked off with the prize.
O.K., all in readiness? Gladiators and Gladiatresses, let the fights, the FUN, begin.
First round, 1st ring: the ideal Mixed Doubles
come-from-behind, 5-game match-up—with current U.S. Closed Champion Ilija
Lupulesku and his attractive partner Rumania’s Mihaela Steff, outlasting
Serbia’s current U.S. Open Champion Aleksandar Karakasevic and his attractive
Croatian partner “Biba.” Both young women are dressed in Killerspin
fashionwear, Mihaela in black, Biba in blue. The foursome’s -10, -9, 11, 9, 8
play, with some appropriate hype, ought to make Couplespin entertainment.
First round, 2nd ring: Belgium’s World # 15 Jean-Michel
Saive vs. Canada’s still fast-hands World #41 Johnny Huang. Another ideal,
crowd-pleasing 5-gamer. When Johnny cracks the ball and Saive gets into lob
position and ends up losing the point but with a knocked-out-of-the-way barrier
in hand the crowd loves it. Or when Johnny’s got J-M 20 feet back and slyly
fakes a hit only to drop the ball just over the net, the crowd roars its delight
at that too. A former U.S. Champion, now in his 80’s, didn’t object to
Saive’s tight headband, but he did think Saive’s hitched-up shorts
too-tight-to-the-crotch-unbecoming. Goodness, it drew as much initial attention,
did it, as an athletic ballet dancer’s conventional codpiece? Ah, Billy,
it’s a different world.
An intrusive one
too. A ball goes out of court, and a cameraman chases it. New York City’s
Jerry Wartski from out of the front-row audience picks it up. The camera is
literally in his face. Will Jerry return the ball?…Play the fool and mouth
it?…Or autograph it? Presumably the public wants to know. It’s all part of
the evening’s happening. In the 5th, up 9-8, Saive serves, grunts,
and wind-up follows. At match-point, Johnny returns one too high—and J-M
fancifully fly-swats it…off. But Saive’s bravura performance prevails—up
10-9 he smacks in Huang’s serve.
First round, 3rd ring: Taiwan’s Chiang Peng Lung, with
“the fastest forehand in the world,” outguns World #20 Zoran Primorac, 5, 5,
3—though Chiang himself has two –7, -8 bullet wounds that have staggered him
into the audience-appreciative 5th.
“Time!”…Very nice crystal prizes are awarded the winners. The
Mistress of Ceremony conducts her de rigueur round-ending interview—here with
Saive. He and the others, seasoned to seasoned talk, round by round oblige.
Second round, 1st ring: Battle of the Sexes. Adam Hugh takes
on “hot” Biba. Is “The Kid” old enough? At 15? I’ll 6, 8, 7 say. His
win, and the enthusiast behind me, will start an unrelenting wave among the
spectators of “ADAM! ADAM! ADAM!” rivaling the throbbing music crashing into
my perforated eardrum. Am I aging?
Second round, 2nd ring: Greece’s “crashing, dashing”
Kalinikos Kreanga is up against Liu Guozheng, “China’s Saviour in the 2001
Swaythling Cup Matches.” Kreanga’s backhand play, as always, is spectacular,
but, though he dashes, he also crashes, 10, -10, -10, -8.
Second round, 3rd ring: Lucjan Blaszczyk, would they need a pretend villain, might best be called “The Bounder,” for, though small of stature, like Kreanga, he does, like the Greek, bound about—and he does 10, 6, -6, 4 obtrusively come at Jorgen Persson, the declining but ever-gracious World Champion of a dozen years ago.
“Time!”…More crystals. And some valuable brass to present them: Jack Lavin, Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Adham Sharara, President of the ITTF; and Sheri Pittman, President of the USATT. Especially honored are legendary Chinese and Swedish players. Chinese Consul General Xu accepts the award for Cai Zhenhua, China’s Head Coach and World Men’s and Mixed Doubles Champion and twice Men’s Singles runner-up. In person to accept are Wang Nan, 2003 World Champion; Kong Linghui, World and Olympic Champion; and Liu Guoliang, World Singles, Men’s and Mixed Doubles Champion. Also in person to accept are Persson and Jan-Ove Waldner, World and Olympic Champion.
“Time!” Tumble to this: the 1958-founded Jessie White Tumblers, a VERY clean-livin’ Chicago crew whose high-divin,’ somersaultin’ ups and downs provide adventurous intermision entertainment.
Third round, 1st ring: Battle of the Lefties. Wang Nan vs. Rumania’s Doubles specialist Mihaela Steff, wary as with her serve she begins Net…Net…Net…, and rightfully so, for she’s hardly the Singles favorite here. Wang does let her 14-12 off in the 3rd though.
Third round, 2nd ring: as wanted, the consummate encounter—first two games to Kong Linghui, second two to Belarus’s Vladimir Samsonov, not so long ago World #1 for 25 months. Down 9-8 in the 5th after leading, Vladi calls “Time.” It doesn’t help. Up 10-8, Kong pushes Vladi’s serve into the net. Now he dramatically calls “Time.” It does help. He swats a 1-2 in for the win and is greeted with “CHIN-a! CHIN-a! CHIN-a!”
Which starts up “ADAM!…ADAM!…ADAM!” all over again, the guy in my ear leading the way.
Third round, 3rd ring: China’s Ma Lin, who graces the Nov.-Dec. cover of Table Tennis Illustrated after taking the 2003 World Cup from Kreanga, meets South Korea’s Joo Se Hyuk, recent $10,000 President’s Cup winner over Saive. With the match tied at 1-1, the 3rd game is key. Ma twirls his racket like a gunslinger before he starts a point and is apt to kill whatever he sees. Wow, can he flip a serve. And, wow, can Joo make a return. Ma takes aim at one that curves around the net, but misses. Of course he doesn’t miss much—Joo gets a 12-10 3rd game, that’s all.
“Time.” Fans stretch their legs, but maybe their eyes, heretofore a-swivelin,’ need a rest. Still, one can’t close them—another merry-go-round to go.
Fourth round, 1st ring: it’s as if the ring-selector knew Austria’s Werner Schlager, the current World Champion, was hurtin’ and so didn’t put him at the center table. Just as well—for two-time Pro Tour Grand Final winner Wang Liqin quickly does him in.
Fourth round, 2nd ring: Waldner vs. Koji Matsushita, “world’s greatest defensive player.” J-O, en route to victory, is hamming it up, and Matsushita’s a willing accomplice. Since the points are playfully taking some time, I’ll bring these players back….
Fourth round, 3rd ring: Karakasevic, down 2-0 to World #19 Kim Taek Soo, goes into a “zone” and his backhand-bullets shoot by Kim though a space-time continuum—Kim, 2-11, doesn’t know where he got lost. But in the 4th, all is suddenly back to normal, and Kim 11-7 closes Kara out. Meanwhile…
Waldner has been casually sending Matsushita from side to side, and also doing some hustling: he brings back a net, but it’s a high ball and Koji swats it for the—no, Waldner reaches it, lobs it, curves it back…and Matsushita misses. Another point has J-O killing a ball, then finishing his stroke by looking at the audience—as if asking them, “Is it coming back?”
“Time.” Do we need any crystal gazing to ask if we’re coming back? Bravo, Robert Blackwell, for making Holiday Table Tennis FUN.
Robert Blackwell’s 28-event, 54-table Killerspin Open, highlighted by 410 entries competing for over $40,000 in prizes, was run under the very capable direction of Danny and Val Seemiller, with help from Sarah Seemiller and Mark Nordby among others.
In the top half of the Men’s Singles Draw, South Korea’s current World finalist, Joo Se Hyuk, advanced to the semi’s, but was 7-game threatened in the quarter’s by 4-time Indian National Champion Chetan Baboor, just recently the recipient of an MBA degree in the States. Think it’s cheatin’ to say that the former Commonwealth Games runner-up, who has the reputation of being able to hit low-ball chop, wasn’t at all intimidated by World #17’s long-pips defensive prowess? Consider that by the time Joo was down 3-2 in games, he had to rely more and more on his balancing bird-wing, swoop-in forehands. Up 9-8 in the 6th, Joo might have faltered, but didn’t, when Baboor kept defensively returning topspin balls from back-court. Up 7-4 in the 7th, he might have faltered, but didn’t, after Baboor cracked in a fearless forehand to tie it up at 8-all. Instead, Joo had a smash finish of his own—to which Chetan could only say to admirers of his gritty effort that it was always difficult to adjust to choppers he hadn’t been accustomed to playing, especially one at this high level (the first defensive star to reach the World final since Germany’s Ebby Schoeler in 1969).
Mark Hazinski said he didn’t play many choppers, so against Japan’s Koji Matsushita, formerly World #17, he was at a disadvantage, particularly trying to read service. Once he got into the point, he did o.k., he said—and cited not his whiff at 8-10 game-point in the 1st but how in the 3rd he was down 6-0 and rallied to 9 before losing. Matsushita then went on to blank Canadian Junior stalwart Bence Csaba, Under 22 runner-up to Germany’s Andreas Ball, and so join Joo in the semi’s.
On the other side of the Draw, World #44 Lucjan Blaszczyk knocked out Peter-Paul Pradeeban after Pradee had to play fellow Canadians—juniors Peng Guo and Pierre-Luc Hinse, twice a w/o winner and so, without playing a match, by his mere presence in the 8th’s, $250 richer. Because of a decision to seed by the World Rankings rather than the USATT Ratings as indicated on the entry blank, U.S. National Champion Ileja Lupulesku opened against Barney Reed, Jr., and after several very close games eliminated him from prize-money consideration. Then in the next round Loupy defaulted to Andrei Filimon. Is it fair to say Junior was a little put out?
That brought the Rumanian Filimon to former World and Olympic Champion Jan-Ove Waldner who was still wearing a Donic playing shirt. (His 1993 10-year contract with them was just up, but he’s signed on for two more years). J-O, up 3-2 in games and at 8-all in the 6th, turns an easy drop for a winner into a loser, then as if the ball were his opponent’s fist, gets taken out by being socked twice in the solar plexus. In the 7th, Waldner quickly racks up a 6-1 lead and despite two mis-serves moves comfortably to 10-6. At which point he closes with an edge—no, he says, double hit, ball caught his finger. The crowd applauds his sportsmanship, and, in a moment, his win.
The Joo/Matsushita semi’s starts as if they’re playing an exhibition, each willingly taking turns at mildly attacking, mildly defending. As play progresses I’m surprised to see Matsushita’s sustained offense. Down 1-0 and 9-8 in the 2nd, he chops, lobs, counters to 9-all, then furiously whacks ball after ball in. Though he continues to mix chops and forehand topspins he sometimes seems to swing a little wildly (misses two would-be killers from 9-all in the 3rd), something Joo never does. Down 3-1 and 9-2 in the 5th, Matsushita, expressionless as ever, signals by returning a ball between his legs it’s all over.
Waldner, World #24, looks anything but that in the opening minutes of his semi’s against Poland’s Tibhar-shirted Blaszczyk. Down 8-2 in the 1st, he climbs to 10-8 before losing, then takes an 8-0 lead in the 2nd, and wins it 11-7. Play is really spotty, for both players aren’t sharp. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player of Blaszczyk’s stature perform at times so badly—in the 4th he’s down 6-1. Ordinarily Waldner is ready for any out-of-this-world shot that rockets in, but the Pole does catch him with a fast down-the-line serve (the only one fast and long I saw in my two-day stay at the McCormick Arena). Up 3-1 and 7-5 in the 5th, J-O appears ready for a KO. Then—how does it happen?—he loses 13 of the next 14 points! And we’re suddenly into the 7th game. But with the opportunity for a $10,000 win on the line, Waldner reactivates himself with a stretch counter-get and tracer-like backhand follow that stops Blaszczyk’s initial attempt to get back in the match. J-O, then, advances to the final.
World #17 Joo, from the time he’s down 4-0 in the opening game, never looks like he has weapons enough to even wound the 38-year-old Waldner. J-O, whose reflexes are instantaneously there to block a wonderful whirl-around-the-net ball by Joo, doesn’t need to be “The Magician” to win this match. In the 2nd game, Waldner serves an edge—and the guy next to me says, “Did he do that deliberately?” Such is the stuff of legend. Though Joo doesn’t take a game, he does in the 4th make some side-to-side acrobatic gets, then finishes the point by walloping in a winner, which gets him warm applause. It’s Waldner’s Championship though and he receives a standing ovation.
In the Women’s, there is one notable early-round contested match. Canada’s Petra Cada, who was playing in a French league at the same time she was studying International Relations at a university in Belgium, at the same time she was competing in tournaments in Scandinavia, struggles with 20-year-old Croatian National Andrea Bobetic of the Zagreb Mladost Club. Andrea, who, accompanied by her father Boris, is on her debut visit to the U.S., must have thought she had the ascension power of the Sears Tower, for in the 1st game she was up 8-1…but then, as if stricken with vertigo, she lost her footing and collapsed. Perhaps Petra’s sudden flat-hit forehands discombobulated her? Fellow Croation Zoran Primorac told Andrea she wasn’t fast enough on her feet, but it was no good telling him that after a long car trip from Zagreb to Berlin and back, and then the flight here, she was tired. Up 10-9 in the 2nd, she loses that game too. Then wins the 3rd and 4th. In the 5th, she’s down 8-1, draws to 9-9, but can go no further. The 6th, from 10-all, she can’t win either. Oh well, so she receives $100 not $125—it wouldn’t have been any more than that, for in the next round she’d have faced Rumania’s World #13 Mihaela Steff, 4-1 winner over Mimi Bosika.
U.S. Women’s Champion Jasna Reed, in advancing to meet Steff, certainly got to practice her forehand picks. First, she had a workout with NYC chopper/one-ball hitter Svetlana Panic who forced me to do a double-take when I saw on the back of her black warm-up suit: “Manchester (1927 Ping Pong Tournament) England.” Where in the world did you get that?’ I asked. “Oh,” she said, “I saw it in a store in Brooklyn, liked it, bought it.” Reed had another workout against local star, former Ukranian National Maria Kretschner, who, undeviatingly tenacious in her backhand anti defense, had downed Slovakia’s Zuzana Polackova, and, by taking a 12-10 game, forced Jasna to slow her offense and for a time play with push-‘n’-roll care. Maria, I might add, earned a Doctorate in Philosophy in Moscow, and, though seldom seen in circuit play, has been in the U.S. five years now.
Canada’s 20-year-old Marie-Christine Roussy, both a Canadian International and Montreal Med student, who in between matches was not studying but reading The Pelican Brief, didn’t make the quarter’s. No disgrace, though, in losing to the Statistztika Budapest Club’s 2002/2003 European Junior Top 12 winner Georgina Pota who also bested her in the U-22 final. However, Georgina, World #88, did not beat our semifinalist Lily Yip, so 4-1 effective with her backhand positional thrusts and fast pick-up forehands. Wang Chen, one of the world’s top players when several years ago she played for China, must have grinned at Minnesota’s bouncy, ebullient Lu Ling, then de-grinned against Killerspin-favorite Bilijana “Biba” Golic, the Croatian #1, now wearing an ankle support after stretching some ligaments. Biba, before losing to Wang, had eliminated 1989-94 Brazilian International Marta Massuda of Houston.
Wang, currently World #30 and likely to move up (she made the Pro Tour Final’s 16), had no trouble with Lily who kept rubbing something called Bio Cath Deep Blue into her upper arm; this enabled her to reach out for the salve of a $500 check. Nor could the 2000 European finalist Steff in her semi’s be pressured at all by Jasna.
Robert, Danny, take note: the Wang/Steff world-class Women’s final for the $2,000 1st prize (the Men get five times that) should have been played in the one-table Arena. I know you don’t mean to be belittling, but, scheduling problems or whatever, that’s the effect. Perhaps some aficionados thought Steff still had trouble adjusting to 11-point play (she’d once said it was like playing from 19-all), but through the first two games she held her own, losing the opener from 9-all but winning the 2nd from 10-all with the help of an edge and a finishing forehand. More of the same in the 3rd: at 9-all, Steff mishit, then topped a ball long—which prompted her to try to take a bite out of her bat. In the 4th she was a goner. And in the 5th, down 10-9, she gave way to a finishing error, thus echoing her loss to Wang in the recent Brazilian Open. No ITTF points won or lost though, for the matches here didn’t count in the World Rankings.
The Under 2600 winner was 35-year-old Guillermo Munez, current and 13-time Mexican National Champion. He defeated De Tran in the semi’s, and a sleep-deprived Sasa Drinic in the final, both 4-2. However, it was Guillermo’s bang-up quarter’s match with 37-year-old 1995 U.S. Closed Men’s Doubles winner and Singles finalist Khoa Nguyen that caught the crowd’s attention. The more so because Guillermo, having thoughtlessly left his racket on an on-court table he’d been at, had to accept the fact that, when he remembered and went to retrieve it, it was gone. So, what to do?…Borrow a racket from Barney Reed of course. The “feel,” said Guillermo,“was fine for attacking” (“Such a short stroke Munez has, but what a backhand impact,” said one onlooker), “but too fast for blocking.”
Up 10-7 match point in the 6th, maybe Munoz had a psychic block, for Nguyen rallied to stay alive. Down 5-4 in the 7th, Khoa went on a hitting spree that propelled him into a 9-5 lead….Then he lost 6 points in a row, the last two when Munoz got a net at 10-all, and Khoa weakly failed to return serve. “I try to get an hour’s practice in every day, but it’s getting harder to play seriously,” said Khoa who has work and family responsibilities. Guillermo, recalling how he’d lost to Khoa from 9-all in the 7th at this year’s U.S. Open, said, “The good thing about this sport is that there’s always an opportunity to play your opponent another day.”
The 2500’s was won by the always energized 16-year-old Pierre-Luc Hense who defeated one of his Montreal Club training partners, 17-year-old Ignacio Cabrera, in the final, 13-11 in the 7th (after Ignacio led 10-8). Cabrera lost another killer—the Under 18 final to another Montreal training partner, Guo Peng, 12-10 in the 7th. “Ordinarily,” said Hense, “Ignacio’s very good at finishing.”
After getting by Texas Wesleyan student Jared Lynch 12-10 in the 7th (shoulda used your forehand more, Jared, and more intelligently?), Santa Clara U’s Auria Malek won the 2350’s over Ying Wang. Some other $300 winners: Shankaren (2200’s); Snider (2100’s); Ballentyne (2000’s). Under 16’s went to Adam Hugh over Misha Kazantsev whom Coach Masaaki Tajima distressfully felt was not prepared either physically or mentally for this tournament.
Men’s Doubles went, as expected, to Lupulesku/Blaszczyk—in the semi’s over Baboor/Drinic (Sasa gave the crowd a kick by scrambling up off the floor in time to wing a ball tableward), and in the final to Seemiller/Hazinski (in there battling for the first 3 games anyway). The Gold Comeback Trophy I award to Danny and Mark for their down-10-6-but-up-15-13-in-the-7th semi’s win over Canada’s Bence Csaba/Faazil Kassam. Danny was so excited; it was like a win of 20 years ago. He hugged Kazinski, while Kassam ripped the rubber off his racket and gave it a fling, though not at his Coach Dejan Papic who thought his Canadian charges had been “too cocky.” The Silver Comeback Trophy goes to De Tran/Khoa Nguyen for their down 3-1 win over Canadians Peter-Paul/Kamkar-Parsi, while the accompanying Rooter of the Year Award I give to Tuan Le, who also wins the Best Reply Contest, for when asked how he did in a particular match, he said, “I played bravely.” Women’s Doubles was won 4-1 by Wang/Reed over European Doubles Champ Steff and Biba.
Houshang Bozorgzadeh took the 60’s. Barry Dattel upset De Tran to split the 40’s with Danny Seemiller. Changping Duan pocketed the $200 1st prize 50’s from Parviz Mojaverian. Said Parviz, “I was sluggish—often slow-looped. That was bad strategy because it allowed Duan to return the ball tight to my body. Still I beat him 11-2 one game. How can you lose the other 3 games when you beat someone 11-2?” Said Duan afterwards, calmly munching on nuggets of dried beef, “If I block I lose, so I smashed.”
[See Results at end.]
Seeing the standing-room-only, highly intense Super Circuit world-class matches at the Showcourt in McCormick Place was another very pleasurable experience. The man initiating these Japanese-based Kenshoen Matches, Mr. Atsuna Yukawa, in building up his Kyoto kimono company called it Kenshoen after the first names of his father, Kenkichi, and mother, Shouyo. Table tennis friends he’d played with at his university came to work for him, and, since he felt the great success of his company was due in some measure to his association with the Sport, he decided, since he had the wherewithal to do it, to give added prestige to Table Tennis by initiating Matches with heretofore unheard of money prizes. The Japanese TTA, so traditionally opposed to professionalism since the mid-1950’s ascendancy of World Champions Ogimura and Tanaka, finally formally bowed to the players, and now weeks of matches are being broadcast over Japanese Communication Satellite, SKY Perfect TV.
In addition to the Kenshoen season’s contracted stars from East and West, a number of Japanese are given the opportunity to participate, for the idea is also to improve the home standard of play. This particular tournament, one of the first outside Japan (in 2003 there were two in China), is typical in that it features single elimination play among a small, elite group (with some flexibility allowed in the choice of players and format). The prize money, by American standards, is staggering: 1st: 7 million yen, or $70,000; 2nd: $35,000; 3rd: $25,000, 4th: $15,000, and on down so that every participant is paid for his play.
The focus is all on the one Killerspin True Blue table in the Arena; blue barriers enclose the matted court; red barriers behind further separate the up-close spectators. In charge of the vital TV Production is Diego Schaaf. The on-the-spot announcer, who’s sometimes a hoot, is England’s Matt Syed, three-time Commonwealth Champion (most recently over Baboor, 28-26 in the 5th). Referee is Peter Chamberlain. Umpires who do heavy duty, and are good at it, are Ed Hogshead and Saul Weinstein; they’re given helpful assistance by Kagin Lee.
A special thanks to Kenshoen/King & Queen sponsors for the Christmas-gift opportunity they gave me and the literally thousands of two-day spectators, including those in the Hall watching the adjacent Volleyball matches, to be up-close thrilled by the skill and athleticism of our Sport’s too little seen super-stars. Obliging super-stars, I need say, for they were often signing autographs, delighting young and old. King & Queen were represented by Mr. Iknya Sekine and Mr. Keiichi Miki who at tournament’s end presented, in camera-op fashion, the oversized checks to the top four players. Robert Blackwell hovered over all, seeing that all would go well, doing what he could to be the cooperative host.
In the first of the two opening Preliminary matches (in this Circuit leg there are 10 players), current U.S. Open Champ Karakasevic (Care-uh-CASS-uh-vich) does not play former World Champion Jorgen Persson as advertised, for Persson has the flu—so World #53 shakehands chopper Koji Matsushita comes in as a foil to World #62 Karakasevic’s penetrating backhands. “Why not a U.S. substitute?” someone’s naive enough to ask—as if he half expected this Japanese production to beam across America, captivating the audience with an iconic U.S.-born star.
Sometimes Mastsushita doesn’t get to use his vaunted defense, for Karkasevic pummels the ball by him first chance he gets, or quickly catches him on a drop. Seeming to hit balls with abandon, the Serb’s shot selection is suspect, but it doesn’t make any difference—Matsushita seems to will only token (1-4) resistance.
The second Preliminary match (some Preliminary) is between World #3 Timo Boll of Germany and World #11 Oh Sang Eun of South Korea who’s presently leading Circuit play and hence ahead in the running for the $1,000,000 end-of-season 1st-place prize. After winning the 1st, Oh, up game-point in the 2nd, errs in mis-returning a rather slow-paced high-top ball…then after Boll dumps his serve-return into the net to go ad down again, Oh makes another error. “The Korean’s underspin serve isn’t easy to see,” someone knowledgeable has said—and as if in response Boll again fails to return serve and is ad down again. But, oh, Oh can’t take advantage. 16-14 Boll—and the match is 1-1. “Some excellent table exchanges characterizing that second game,” says Syed who, well, has to say something, and is, in fact, quite clear and helpful in explaining all to the uninitiate who may be watching.
3rd game: 11-5 to Oh. “What’s the matter with Boll?” someone asks. “He’s here with his girl friend,” someone replies. Actually, Timo was with his fiancé, Deli (quite a dish), and they were planning to be married Dec. 31! Which one of you decided that date?” I asked them. Timo said, “It’s the only time I’m free”—he meant from his table tennis commitments. “Besides,” he says, “we won’t forget our wedding anniversary.”
4th game: Oh’s up 7-3, and an onlooker says, “Nothing jerks in his body. He’s got so much finesse.” But up 10-7 Oh doesn’t win this game. Boll gets a barrage of forehands in when he most needs them, and Oh, down 11-10, fails to return serve. So, instead of losing 4 straight as he might have, Timo’s 2-2 even in the match—and, instead of being unceremoniously ousted, wins the next two games to enter the quarter’s. Earlier, on introducing Timo, Syed had given him a requisite identification tag: “Psychologically, the toughest player in the game.” Maybe he is.
The match with World #20 Zoran Primorac is another struggle for Boll. Down 7-5 in the 1st, Boll reflexively returns an edge ball and is rewarded with one of his own. As I’m struck anew by the athleticism of the world’s best, Primorac, careful at 10-8 not to try to hit in a too-spinny ball, 11-9 wins the 1st. Are the points these days getting longer? It seems so to me. In the 2nd, Primorac is up 9-6, but can’t hold the lead. Down 9-8, Boll again shows how quickly resilient he is, bends to retrieve a net ball, and, back in the point, ties it up, then goes ahead. Whereupon Primorac scores with a casually smooth off-the-bounce counter to deuce it….Up 14-13 and resting his left hand on his left leg, he awaits Boll’s serve, and returning it sees it ride the net…off. Two backhand errors by the Croat, and Boll is up out of the pit again.
The 3rd game is 9-3 all Primorac. In the 4th—hooray!—Zoran was forced to chop a ball. It’s the unusual mix of such a stroke into today’s courted topspin and counter-topspin that’s so refreshing. Of course he didn’t win the point…or the game. Match 2-2. Now more see-sawing: a clear win for Primorac in the 5th; ditto for Boll in the 6th. Both players seem to know exactly where the other’s ball will go. In the 7th, Boll, down 5-1, looks to be a loser, but he doesn’t call “Time.” A battle of forehand topspins ensues—Primorac is up 8-5. But now he hesitates before playing—as if to say, How am I going to get these last points? And (lacking confidence?) he continues to hesitate…and to lose every point. Yep, 6 in a row—Boll runs out the match.
Timo’s semi’s opponent will either be Taiwan’s World #10 Chiang Peng Lung or Greece’s World #9 Kalinikos Kreanga. Chiang’s 6-1 lead in the 1st is reduced by a series of shots, most notably a patented Kreanga backhand counter from deep court that draws gasps from the crowd. Though the expatriate Rumanian catches Chiang at 8-all, he again has to rally from 10-8 down—which he does, backhanding in an ace to deuce it up. Chiang loses the game on a whiff—and Syed proclaims Kreanga the great Greek hope for the Athens Olympics. As for the here and now, in the 2nd he’s again down 6-1, again ties it up, but at 9-all, not satisfied with his formidable backhand counters from the deep, he risks an out-of-position, contorted forehand that fails, and loses the game. Syed speaks of the “venomous” shots the two are spewing. Kreanga continues to drop back from the table—until one aficionado near me questions whether he isn’t getting the worst of it back there.
In the uncontested 3rd game, Chiang’s very fast forehand placements take their toll on Kreanga; and in the 4th the Greek can’t win from 8-all, even falling into the no-no trap of a passive return. In the 5th, up 10-7, he can’t get a quick clincher, calls “Time!” then resumes play to make a very bad flip return of serve. Chiang 14-12 advances in a smash ending.
In the other half of the Draw, it’s World #19 Kim Taek Soo vs. World #36 Petr Korbel. The Czech loses the first two games at 8—repeatedly errs in looping balls long. Loses the 3rd too from 10-all when Kim’s quick counter puts him ad up, and a serve and vicious follow brings him the game winner. Only in the 4th can Korbel score. And here he’s helped—for as Kim, down 10-8, balletically moves into position to all-out counter, the ball catches the edge. Fella told me that Kim used to, perhaps still does, practice moving to his right by setting up two tables side by side, then hugging the left side while readying himself to spring-‘n’-stretch to the far-forehand attack. In the 5th, following through to victory, Kim pleased the crowd with a long sweeping backhand from deep-court that a guy a couple of seats from me mimed repeatedly in appreciation.
Against World # 4 Samsonov, Karakasevic, coming on strong the 1st game, bulleted in at least four lethal backhands giving us all quite a buzz, but in losing 11-9 had to have missed half a dozen forehands. After going down 2-0, Karakasevic made a game try in the 3rd, but Vladi, as if he were just going through the motions, which workmanlike I guess he was, loped into his high-toss routine and 14-12 stopped the Serb’s last threat. The 4th game 11-3 deteriorated into a spiritless exhibition.
Samsonov’s smooth-stroke play from both wings is pin-point efficient, as orderly as his close-together shoes when up goes his high-toss. He’s off to a 2-0 start and a 9-0 lead in the 3rd. Then serves into the net. Amid the applause, Kim raises his arms in mock victory. Down 3-0 and 10-7 in the 4th, does he fight to the death? Nope. Opts for an ending exhibition.
Boll, whom Syed announces as “striking fear into the heart of the Chinese,” on going up against 2000 Asian Champ Chiang sports a 2-0 lead, Chiang having whiffed a follow to lose the 2nd at 9. In the 3rd, though, Boll is 11-4 burnt, is toast. Which doesn’t stop him from jogging about and grunting as he smacks forehands. Each player seems to know the 4th game is the real decider. Down 7-6, Boll mishits, turns what should have been a winner into a loser. But those two points he gets back, and immediately two more to go up game point. Chiang counters. Boll squats, twists, in a forehand follow through, but to no avail—deuce. Then he’s down on one knee, and that doesn’t work either. But the legs haven’t gone out from under him. Twice now he has the ad, only to see Chiang twice serve and successfully attack. At 15-all Boll gets the ad, and this time Chiang serves and misses his follow. That’s it—Chiang is 2-11 awful in the 5th.
The match for 3rd Place, worth an extra $10,000, is worth fighting for—and fight Chiang Peng Lung and Kim Taek Soo do—though it’s a little startling to see Chiang take a 7-0 lead in the 1st. Kim squares the match in the 2nd, both penholders thrilling the audience at one point with a seemingly never-ending backhand-to-backhand exchange. After a 12-10 3rd game, won by Kim, they trade power plays, and then, in the 6th, though Kim scoops up a beauty before it can hit the floor and curls in his return, he comes up short, or, rather, long, in perilous pit-pat, keep-the-ball-close-to-the-net play, and Chiang, stroke-ready, socks it silly. In the 7th, Kim, down 8-3, calls “Time,” and though he regroups to 8-9, he can do no more, and, with a discus-like swing mis-hits the final ball, and is floored.
In the final, current European Champion Samsonov (formerly World #1) meets current European Top 12 Champion Timo Boll (formerly World #1). The first 4 games are split 2-2. Boll has this low, side-spin driving serve that’s difficult to handle because it doesn’t go long. “It’s funky-looking,” says a guy. By the time they’re into the 5th, there have been so many ticked nets, most to Boll’s advantage, one has to wonder not if the players are tight but if the nets are. Boll wins this 5th game, 11-9, the only closely contested one of the match. The last game, particularly, is anticlimactic—for, would you believe it, Timo has Vladi 10-0! Of course that in itself has to be worth showing, since, if the Sport’s great champions can be blitzed in our newly abbreviated games, surely that’ll give some comfort to the many out there who are at the mercy of the few.
The last of the season’s now defunct U.S. Pro Tour tournaments was held Monday, Dec. 29th at McCormick Place after both the Dec. 27-28th weekend Killerspin Open and Super Circuit Matches were completed. Danny Seemiller, who ran this tournament, had hoped to build the Tour into a money-maker for the players. “Unless Table Tennis is a money sport,” said Danny, “it will never develop in the U.S.” But the USOC didn’t like it that some of their $3,000 share of the $4,500 prize money was going to non-Elite players, so they withdrew their support. Here kudos to Robert Blackwell for putting up the other $1,500. But, as anyone can see, it will take a major sponsor if ever this Tour (for U.S. citizens only) is to be activated.
Best early-round matches in the Men’s were Mark Nordby over lobber/forehand-slugger Yamil Rivera in the 7th; Barry Dattel over Casey McCleod who with younger brother Collin will soon be continuing their Home Studies while training in Tianjin, China; and Tuan Le over an admirably agile, even bouncy Larry Bavly (Question: “How much do you weigh, Larry?” Answer: “Say an even 3”). Oh, how Larry, attacking, wanted this match—just was too anxious on those ads he had before losing 18-16 in the 7th.
In the one semi’s, it was Khoa Nguyen vs. Adam Hugh taking advantage of Lupulesku’s decision to withdraw after the Draw was posted. Although on coming out of Vegas Adam had been sick with the flu, he was certainly feeling better now; in fact, had just the stamina, just the heart, to come from 2-0 down in a match-turning maelstrom that had he not righted himself would likely have been the end of him. After Khoa, down 9-7, had socked in two winning forehands and with a net ball had nullified Adam’s great get, he twice erred, and finally succumbed, 14-12, to Adam’s backhand flick.
That Khoa might be tiring showed in the 4th game when, up 9-6, he lost 5 in a row. Match ostensibly all even. In the 5th, both players were earning their points, each scoring backhand or forehand winners. During a long exchange at 9-all Adam slipped but recovered to pull out the point. Khoa, however, with concerted play squared it. Again, though, Adam won the deuce game—this time smacking in a forehand. Khoa had scored 32 points in the last 3 games—and lost them all. Up 6-5 in the 6th, Adam began making gutteral noises that bespoke success—while Khoa, twice mis-serving, definitely was tired, was finished. I couldn’t help but be impressed by Adam’s maneuverable backhand play, but mom Lily said he’d picked that up on his own, hadn’t specifically been taught such strokes by dad Barry on their home table. Actually, said Lily, Adam didn’t much like to practice, but she was proud that he thought strategically on his own—which was a must, she said, for any aspiring player.
Hazinski seemed to have gotten taller, bigger, to me, and I soon found out why. Coaches Seemiller and Nordby have got him on a Fitness Program. Every day he runs 30 minutes, does 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. If he doesn’t do this—and he’s an honest fella—he’s fined $50. His semi’s against lefthander Barney Reed begins with some shaky play. Barney up 9-7 gets a net for the ad, but when he loses the next point he hesitates (thinks what?), then goes for the towel. Hazinski serves, wins the point; Hazinski serves, Barney pops up the ball, and Mark, missing his opportunity, bangs it netward, off. In the 2nd, Hazinski down 4-1 catches Barney at 5-all, makes a little fist. Even-up they go, both giving no quarter. Down 13-12, Mark bangs in Barney’s serve. Down 14-13, Reed watches helplessly as Hazinski gets an irretrievable net; Barney in frustration bats the ball ceilingward.
In the 3rd though, one begins to believe, as Seemiller says, that Hazinski often has trouble with lefties, particularly their serves. Ahead 3-0…he’s down 10-4. But such are the vagaries of 11-point games that next thing you know Mark’s up 5-0 in the 4th and Barney’s suddenly screaming, “[Golly, Gee whiz, Gosh darn]… KICKS!”—using the Swedish term indicating that Mark has hit another one off the edge of his racket. Down 10-7, Barney gets to 9 before Mark serves and follows to go 3-2 up—and again ceilingward goes the battered ball. After that Barney can’t challenge—though in the 6th he does have a moment of hope. Down 4-1, he calls “Time.” But does Mark care? He comes back, mis-serves, pushes a ball into the net, then from 4-3 runs it to 9-3…and 11-5 out. Andre Scott, who’d been coaching Barney, had told me when in the Killerspin Open Mark had been out-of-it against Csaba that, having beaten David Zhuang at the National’s, he hadn’t set his avowed target (David) to the needed distance (Lupulesku) and so more or less had to start over again, find a new target or targets. Perhaps now he has.
Against Adam Hugh in the final, Hazinski opens by pushing two serve returns into the net, closes the 1st, down 10-9, by serving into the net. Dad Barry is in Adam’s corner and is urging the savvy 15-year-old to spin the ball, but with variations. In the 2nd, Adam’s up 8-6 and lookin’ good until Mark, finding his marks, takes 5 in a row. Early in the 3rd, Adam keeps some lobs going, then, just as if he were in that Super Circuit Arena court, tries a spectacular forehand counter. I liked that—but it misses and he misplays some other points. Is down 2-1. Adam will lose the 5th and last game of this match—will be beaten badly from the get-go, but there’s no stalling, he’s ready to play every point. However, in the pivotal 4th game, an interesting occurrence takes place. Mark, down 10-9, in the midst of play thought he’d banged in a winner and yelled “Cho!” However, it wasn’t a winner, play continued, the umpire didn’t say anything, nor did Adam who, apparently not disturbed by the cry, returned the shot but soon lost the point…and the game. Which got me thinking: are there not players out there (no one reading this of course) who are prepared to take advantage, especially at a crucial point in the match, of such a situation—ready to purposefully miss the return, to deliberately appear flustered, in which case the umpire would have to take point and game away from the shouter?
In the Women’s event, which Lily Yip easily wins, there’s a spirited semi’s match between Laura Xiao and Lily’s daughter Judy Hugh. After Judy, up 10-9 in the 1st, scores a game-winning forehand, and takes a 9-3 lead in the 2nd, who do you think’s gonna win this match? Laura? Surprise, she wins this game 11-9. In the 3rd, Judy seems to be in and out of focus. Key backhands she’s zinging in, but at the same time she can’t put away a high ball, fails to return serve, whiffs one—and yet withal she wins this game 14-12. In the 4th, Judy has a 9-7 lead, but another whiff and where is she?—gone floating into a marathon métier from which neither player wants out. Finally Laura (“Yeah!”) seems to want to 18-16 win a little more than Judy. After that, it’s south for Hugh, for she’s 8-3 down in losing the 5th, and 7-2 down in the 6th. But game to the end, she rallies from 10-7 match-point down, gets to 9, then, oh, puts up a high ball that Laura unhesitatingly socks in.
“Had Judy won,” I asked Lily, “would you have played the final with her or split the prize money?” “Played,” she said. “Would you have won?” “Kids have to work to succeed. Of course I would have won—I’d have killed her.”
01. Men’s Open
Final: Jan-Ove Waldner def. Joo Se Hyuk 4-0
Semi-Final: Jan-Ove Waldner def. Lucjan Blasczyk 4-3
Semi-Final: Joo Se Hyuk def. Koji Matsushita 4-2
02. Women’s Open
Final: Wang Chen def. Mihaela Steff 4-1
Semi-Final: Wang Chen def. Lily Yip 4-0
Semi-Final: Mihaela Steff def. Jasna Reed 4-1
03. Men’s Doubles
Final: Blaszczyk/Lupulesku def Seemiller/Hazinski 4-1
Semi-Final: Blaszczyk/Lupulesku def Baboor/Drinic 4-0
Semi-Final: Seemiller/Hazinski def Csaba/Kassam 4-3
04. Women’s Doubles
Final: Jasna Reed/Wang Chen def. M. Steff/B. Golic 4-1
Semi-Final: Wang Chen/J. Reed def. P. Cada/M.C. Roussey 4-1
Semi-Final: M. Steff/B. Golic def. A. Bobetic/G. Pota 4-1
05. U-22 Men
Final: Andreas Ball def. Bence Csaba 3-1
Semi-Final Andreas Ball def. Adam Hugh 3-1
Semi-Final Bence Csaba def. Mark Hazinski 3-1
06. U-22 Women
Final: Georgina Pota def. Marie-Christine Roussey 3-1
07. U-18
Final: Peng Guo def. Ignacio Cabrera 3-0
Semi-Final: Peng Guo def. Pierre-Luc Hinse 3-0
Semi-Final: Ignacio Cabrera def. Adam Hugh 3-0
08. U-16
Final: Adam Hugh def. Misha Kazantsev 3-2
Semi-Final: Adam Hugh def. Mark Wei 3-0
Semi-Final: Misha Kazantsev def. Giullaume Poulin-Couture 3-0
09. O-40
Final: Dan Seemiller (split) Barry Dattel
Semi-Final: Dan Seemiller def. Tesilimi Iloh 3-0
Semi-Final: Barry Dattel def. De Tran 3-2
10. O-50
Chenping Duan 2-0
Parviz Mojaverian 1-1
Antonio Gutierez 0-2
11. O-60
Houshang Bozorgzadeh 2-0
Qi Cheng Li 1-1
Tadao Inui 0-2
12. U-2600
Final: Guillermo Munoz def. Sasa Drinic 4-2
Semi-Final: Guillermo Munoz def. Khoa Nguyen 4-3
Semi-Final: Sasa Drinic def. De. Tran 4-2
13. U-2500
Final: Pierre-Luc Hinse def. Ignacio Cabrera 4-3
Semi-Final: Pierre-Luc Hinse def. De Tran 4-2
Semi-Final: Ignacio Cabrera def. Adam Hugh 4-0
14. U-2350
Final: Auria Malek def. Yin Wang 4-1
Semi-Final: Auria Malek def. Jared Lynch 4-3
Semi-Final: Yin Wang def. Marta Massuda 4-0
15. U-2200
Final: Chandramouli Shankaren def. Yamil Rivera 3-0
Semi-Final: Chandramouli Shankaren def. Auria Malek 3-0
Semi-Final: Yamil Rivera def. Marie Kretschmer 3-2
16. U-2100
Final: Nick Snider def. Robert Ballantyne 3-1
Semi-Final: Nick Snider def. Luis Alvarado 3-0
Semi-Final: Robert Ballantyne def. D. Llewellyn def.
17. U-2000
Final: Robert Ballantyne def. Luis Vila 3-2
Semi-Final Luis Vila def. Jeff Huang 3-2
Semi-Final Robert Ballantyne def. Samer Chaar 3-1
18. U-1900
Final: Mark Wei def. Samer Chaar 3-2
Semi-Final Mark Wei def. Bob Douglass 3-1
Semi-Final Samer Chaar def. Aleksandr Brodkin 3-2
19. U-1750
Final: Matthew Lee def. Kevin Schulz 3-0
Semi-Final: Matthew Lee def. Toan Do 3-0
Semi-Final: kevin Schulz def. Derek Heppe 3-1
20. U-1600
Final: Dilip Shah def. John Hauser 3-1
Semi-Final: Dilip shah def. Aye Aykenit 3-2
Semi-Final: John Hauser def. Carlos Cheon
21. U-1450
Final: Alicia Wei def. Andrew Chan 3-2
Semi-Final: Alicia Wei def. Derek Borysiewicz 3-0
Semi-Final: Andrew Chan def. Norberto Brown
22. U-1300
Final: Andrew Chan def. Justin Bertachi 3-0
Semi-Final: Andrew Chan def. Joseph Wells 3-1
Semi-Final: Justin Bertachi def. Jonathan Lo 3-0
23. U-1100
Final: Manwai Wong def. Justin Fawcett 3-2
Semi-Final: Justin Fawcett def. Jeff Schiff
Semi-Final: Manwai Wong def. Anisa Mohammed 3-1
24. U-900
Final: Manwai Wong def. Thomas Latimer
Semi-Final Manwai Wong def. Justin Fawcett 3-2
Semi-Final Thomas Latimer def. paul Simone 3-1
25. U-3200 2-Man Team
Final: Eider/Orascanin def. Petty/Petty 3-1
Semi-Final Eider/Orascanin def. Chua/Wei
Semi-Final Petty/Petty def. Bozorgzadeh/Seemiller
26. U-4400 2-Man Team
Final: J. Podvin/A. Malek def. Yip/Hugh (def)
27. U.S. Pro Tour Men
Final: Mark Hazinski def Adam Hugh 4-1
Semi-Final Mark Hazinski def. Barney Reed 4-2
Semi-Final Adam Hugh def. Khoa Nguyen 4-2
28. U.S. Pro Tour Women
Final: Lily Yip def. Laura Xiao 4-2
Semi-Final Lily Yip def. Svetlana Panich 4-0
Semi-Final Laura Xiao def. Judy Hugh 4-2
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