Newark, DE · June 14-15, 2003
By Larry Hodges
Stiga
Open Champion Thomas Keinath. Photo by Larry Hodges ©2003.
Thomas Keinath won the Open, but the story of the tournament was the play of the country’s top two juniors, Adam Hugh (15) and Han Xiao (16). Adam made the final of the Open, upsetting Atanda Musa along the way; Han won Under 22 and Under 2500. The two played twice and split, with Adam winning in the Open, Han in the Under 22 final.
Open
Finalist Adam Hugh wins in the semifinals. Photo by Wendy Troy ©2003.
The two
were not the only junior players having breakout tournaments. Khaleel Asgarali
(16) won both Under 2125 and Under 2250, made the semifinals of Under 2375, and
made the final of Under 18 against Adam. (In the Under 2125 final against
Antwain Davis, Khaleel won 4-2, winning seven in a row from down 9-4 in the
sixth. Davis had fought off Adam’s sister Judy in the semifinals, winning
4-3.) Others doing well were Alden Fan, who won Under 16, made the final of
Under 2000, and the semifinals of Under 2125; and Joseph Wang, who won Under 13
and made the final of Under 16. All of these juniors were from two states, with
the Hugh’s, Alden and Antwain from New Jersey, and Han, Khaleel and Joseph
from Maryland.
The juniors
weren’t the only ones winning. Lim Ming Chui won Over 50 and made the final of
Under 2250 – but lost out to youth and Khaleel. Barry Dattel lost to Musa in
the Over 40 final, but won Under 2375.
Many people
came to the desk to comment on how well run the tournament was – another
on-time performance by North American Table Tennis. (Disclosure: this writer was
helping at the desk!) Even a 15-minute blackout on Saturday when the power went
out didn’t throw the schedule off track. Things went so smoothly that the
tournament’s president and director – Richard Lee and Fong Hsu – spent
much of the tournament on a back table working on the upcoming U.S. Open they
would be running, while the NATT staff ran the tournament. A special thanks goes
to Stiga for sponsoring this and other stops on the 2003 Stiga North American
Tour.
24 players
battled it out to see which four would join the top 12 players (seeded out) in
the Final 16. In the six groups of four, the top player advanced in five. The
most interesting group was Group Five, which finished in a three-way tie.
Top-seeded Barry Dattel (2331) defeated third-seeded Khaleel Asgarali (2122, but
soon to prove that rating to be outdated), 4,-8,7,9. Khaleel “upset” Rich
Burnside (2288), -5,8,-5,8,8. Rich “upset” Barry, 8,7,5. In the three-way
tie that went to games, by virtue of winning 3-0 against Barry and going five
with Khaleel, Rich advanced. But Khaleel and Barry would have plenty of action
in other events.
Since there
were six players advancing from the preliminaries for the four spots in the
final 16, there were two “knockout” matches. The two seeded out were Sean
O’Neill and Lily Yip. Han Xiao defeated Rich Burnside, 6,-8,6,4, to advance.
Khaled Zeine won the first two against Samson Dubina, but it was not to be as
Samson, perhaps finding biblical strength from Khaled’s long pips/metaphorical
long hair, came roaring back to win, -7,-7,9,6,7.
Unfortunately,
three of the 12 players seeded out of the preliminaries didn’t show.
Second-seeded David Zhuang had a good excuse – he called up and explained that
his wife, Joannie, who was expecting a baby, had (apparently) gone into labor.
(It would turn out to be a false alarm, but expect another very small pips-out
penholder very soon.) Also not showing were fifth-seeded Li Yuxiang and
eighth-seeded Michael Hyatt.
This left a hole in the draws, as Group Two had lost its top two players (David & Li), so former USA Team Member (and five-time men’s champion) Sean O’Neill and the Philippines #1 player and national champion Ernesto Ebuen III battled it out to see who would advance. Sean, who was suffering from a strained quad injury, would triumph over Ebuen in the quarterfinals of Under 2500, but not here in the Open, where Ebuen won, 8,-1,-6,11,8,-7,7, in this battle of big forehand players where Sean had the better short game, Ebuen the faster footwork. However, both advanced, but Ebuen would play a group runner-up (Adam Hugh), while Sean would get a group winner (Wang Chen) in the quarterfinals.
Group One had lost its second seed, Hyatt. The tournament’s top seed, Thomas Keinath of Germany (playing in his fourth consecutive tournament and preparing for the U.S. Open at the Manhattan club with Wang Chen, Atanda Musa and others) easily won both his matches 4-0. In the battle for the other advancee, it was the all-out hitting & blocking Lily Yip (2405) versus the ball control, serves and sudden loop kills of Tahl Leibovitz (2481). Advancing was Lily, in a long 10,-11,-9,10,3,-9,9. Yes, all but one game was 9 or deuce.
Wang Chen, now rated 2658 and the top rated woman in the country after her performance at the recent Quaker City Open, won Group Three, losing two games to Han Xiao (2392) and one to Adam Hugh (2523). Han defeated Idi Lewis (2453) in a comeback from down 3-1 (10,-9,-12,-6,9,8,7), while Adam won against Idi 4-0. In the battle to see who would advance, Adam won over Han, revenging his loss to him at the Quaker City Open, -13,9,9,3,9.
Group Four had a number of wild matches. Brian Pace (2509) started off by losing the first two games against Samson Dubina (2297), but came back to win, -10,-6,8,10,13,9. Atanda Musa (2617) won quickly (9,9,-7,9,4) against Paul David (2443), and even more quickly against Samson in the next match (8,6,7,6), and Brian would later complain that he barely sat down to rest from his match with Samson, and had to play again – and the 2509-rated “Goliath” would lose to David, -6,9,-10,5,3,8. Brian’s next match was with Musa – a match between two similar styles, both with big forehand loops and athletic footwork. Final scores - 6,8,-9,-9,-9,9,15 for Musa, who fought off five (5!) match points in the last game.
“He’s playing much better,” said Musa of Brian. “It’s a tough match because we both play the same forehand looping style, so the match had lots of counterlooping – almost too much.” With Brian, Paul and Samson all 1-2, it went to games, and Paul advanced along with the 3-0 Musa.
All matches from here on were best of nine.
After losing the first, Keinath won easily against Paul David in a true “David vs. Goliath” match, -7,4,3,4,3,10. Anyone rated 2843 deserves to be called “Goliath.”
Wang Chen also won her match easily over Sean O’Neill, 8,7,5,5,-10,4. Interestingly, she was probably the tallest of the eight quarterfinalists, and she would tower in height over the other three semifinalists by quite a bit.
Atanda Musa, perhaps lobbing a bit too much, found himself 3-3 in games with Lily Yip. But he won the last two games easily: 2,-10,4,-6,5,-9,5,6.
Ernesto
Ebuen (R) looping to Adam Hugh in the quarterfinals. Photo by Wendy Troy
©2003.
The most interesting of the quarterfinals was Adam Hugh versus Ernesto Ebuen, a member of the Philippines National Team. (This writer had the honor of umpiring the match while scribbling notes between games –not a single illegal serve!) Ebuen has a big forehand and is fearless in going for it. Adam is more two-winged with great ball control – but often too soft at the start of rallies, giving Ebuen a chance to go for a big shot. Ebuen wins the first easily, 11-6, but Adam goes up 8-2 in the second. Six points later, it’s 8-all! Two points later, and Adam is back on top, 10-8 game point. But Ebuen comes back, and wins 13-11 on an excruciating (for Adam) loop that nicks the net. In the third, Ebuen almost breaks it open, leading 9-8 – but Adam wins three in a row. Adam has now settled on a strategy of opening with his backhand mostly, and then following up from both wings. The opening backhand loops seem to pin down Ebuen, and Adam wins the next two games easily, with some spectacular counterlooping points.
In the sixth, Ebuen leads 10-8, but can’t convert. At 10-all, Ebuen absolutely rips a forehand “winner” from his backhand corner – but Adam gets revenge for the second-game net ball, blocking it back on the edge and winning the game, 12-10. In the seventh, Adam leads 9-5, and it’s just about over – but then it’s 9-all. Ebuen serves and, just like the game before, absolutely rips a “winner.” This time Adam blocks it back cleanly, and Ebuen can’t touch it. Match to Adam, -6,-11,9,4,6,10,9.
These were the two of the best matches of the tournament. (The other two “great” matches to watch were the Pace-Musa battle and the Hugh-Ebuen quarterfinal.) The visiting German, Keinath, must have thought the other three in the semifinals a curious mix – a woman, and junior and a senior! But these weren’t just “any” woman, junior or senior. They were the #1 rated woman, the #1 rated junior, and (among those who have played in tournaments this year) the #1 rated senior in the country.
Musa had, in consecutive matches before the semifinals, fought his way past Adam’s step-father, Barry Dattel, in the Over 40 Final (6,6,9,9), and past Adam’s mom in the quarterfinals (see above), and now faced Adam himself – either warmed up or worn down by The Family. Would Adam have the power to get past Musa’s topspin defense, and the serve return & rally skills to stop Musa’s big forehand? YES! To the surprise of many, Adam dominated the match as he pulled off the upset, 8,-8,8,5,5,-7,3. In the sixth, down 4-1 in games, Musa had finally established some control, but in the seventh, between Adam’s continuous two-winged attack and “Choes!”, and Musa’s missing his own serve twice (!), it was Adam into the final.
Wang
Chen serves to Thomas Keinath in the Semifinal. Photo by Wendy Troy ©2003.
On the other side, Keinath was having a surprisingly difficult time holding leads against Wang Chen. It’s a nice contrast in styles – Keinath a pure two-winged power looper who swings at nearly everything, and Wang the over-the-table hitter blocker with pips on the backhand, and a nice forehand loop as well. Wang, currently ranked 39th in the world among women, had been ranked as high as #4 a few years ago, and in recent times had been playing that level. The first three games were all 12-10, with Wang winning two of them – winning five in a row from down 10-7 in the third to go up 2-1 in games. The rallies alternated between Keinath ripping power loops from both sides against Wang’s blocking, and sudden attacks from Wang, either looping with the forehand or smashing backhands.
Keinath won the fourth, and led 10-8 in the fifth (with a down-the-line ace serve at 9-8) – and again faltered as Wang again came back and won, 15-13. Keinath evened it up in the sixth, but fell behind 1-5 in the seventh – then went up 10-8. But for the third time, he couldn’t hold this lead as Wang deuced it, 10-all. But this time he pulled it out, 13-11, with help from another service ace at 10-all. In the eighth, Keinath went up 8-5 and 9-7, but once again Wang came back to tie it, 9-all. But Keinath came up with two nice serves (fast & deep to the backhand, and short backspin), and Wang put both in the net, and Keinath was in the final, 10,-10,-10,8,-13,11,9.
“It was a very difficult match,” Keinath said. “I’ve been playing at her club in New York, and I know her game, and she knows mine.” Asked about whether many German players played like Wang, he said that there were a number of players there with that style.
The final was rather anticlimactic. Keinath said that because he had played so many tournaments recently, he was tired and somewhat less motivated coming into the tournament – but said, “For the final, I will be very motivated – I want to win!” And win he did. The pattern of the match was Keinath would take a small lead, Adam would stick with him, then Keinath would pull off a serve or big shot at the end to win. The scores were 6,8,9,9,-9,9 – note the scores of the last four! Overall, Adam’s steadiness and ball control matched up well with Keinath’s big shots, but Keinath simply won too many points on serve & follows or Adam’s misses off his serve. Adam rarely returned serves short, so Keinath often was able to serve and tee off against the long returns. The last point of the match, with Keinath up 10-9, was spectacular as Adam ripped loop after loop to Keinath’s suddenly spectacular blocking – and Adam finally missed. (Here's a video clip of the final point!)
On interesting point – in the first point of game four, Keinath’s return of Adam’s serve was a net dribbler. Adam lunged and threw his racket at the ball and made a successful return, which so caught Keinath off guard that he wasn’t able to get to the ball despite a last-second lunge himself. However, the point was Keinath’s, as it isn’t legal to return the ball by throwing your racket – you must always have a “playing hand.” (Also, Adam moved the table as he lunged for the ball, as video replays verified.) The crowd booed the ruling, and Keinath also argued that the point should be Adam’s. When the umpire stuck to the rules, Keinath dumped the next point.
Adam Hugh – Under 18 Champion, Open Singles and Under 22 Runner-up.
Han Xiao – Under 22 and Under 2500 Champion.
Barry Dattel – Under 2375 Champion, Over 40 Runner-up.
Khaleel Asgarali – Under 2250 and Under 2125 Champion, Under 18 Runner-up, Under 2375 Semifinalist.
Lim Ming Chui – Over 40 Champion, Under 2250 Runner-up.
Alden Fan – Under 16 Champion, Under 2000 Runner-up, Under 2125 Semifinalist.
Joseph Wang – Under 13 Champion, Under 16 Runner-up.
Peihe Yuan – Under 1700 Champion, Under 1850 Runner-up, Under 2000 Semifinalist.
Shawn Embleton – Under 4200 Doubles Champion, Under 2375 Runner-up.
Usama Nausrudeen – Under 2000 Champion, Under 4200 Doubles Champion.
Open Singles – Final: Thomas Keinath d. Adam Hugh, 6,8,9,9,-9,9; SF: Keinath d. Wang Chen, 10,-10,-10,8,-13,6,11,9; Hugh d. Atanda Musa, 8,-8,8,5,5,-7,3; QF: Keinath d. Paul David, -7,4,3,4,3,10; Wang d. Sean O’Neill, 8,7,5,5,-10,4; Musa d. Lily Yip, 2,-10,4,-6,5,-9,5,6; Hugh d. Ernesto Ebuen, -6,-11,9,4,6,10,9.
Open Preliminaries
Group A: 1st Thomas Keinath, 2-0 (d. Leibovitz, 4,5,6,8; d. Yip, 4,6,6,9); 2nd Lily Yip, 1-1 (d. Leibovitz, 10,-11,-9,10,3,-9,9); 3rd Tahl Leibovitz, 0-2. No Show – Michael Hyatt.
Group B: 1st Ernesto Ebuen III, 1-0 (d. O’Neill, 8,-1,-6,11,8,-7,7); 2nd Sean O’Neill, 0-1; No Shows – David Zhuang and Li Yuxiang.
Group C: 1st Wang Chen, 3-0 (d. Xiao, 9,-5,3,-10,6,5; d. Lewis, 7,7,3,9; d. Hugh, 3,8,-8,6,6); 2nd Adam Hugh, 2-1 (d. Xiao, -13,9,9,3,9; d. Lewis, 4,11,10,8); 3rd Han Xiao, 1-2 (d. Lewis, 10,-9,-12,-6,9,8,7); 4th Idi Lewis, 0-3.
Group D: 1st Atanda Musa, 3-0 (d. Dubina, 8,6,7,6; d. David, 9,9,-7,9,4; d. Pace, 6,8,-9,-9,-9,9,15); 2nd Paul David, 1-2 (d. Pace, 4,7,7,-9,7); 3rd Samson Dubina, 1-2 (d. David, -6,9,-10,5,3,8); 4th Brian Pace, 1-2 (d. Dubina, -10,-6,8,10,13,9).
U2500 – Final: Han Xiao d. Sean O’Neill, -11,8,10,-3,6,-6,6; SF: Xiao d. Khaled Zeine, -9,9,8,9,13; O’Neill d. Paul David, 9,6,10,-15,13; QF: Xiao d. Tahl Leibovitz, 5,8,5; Zeine d. Idi Lewis, 8,8,-8,-8,8; David d. Shawn Embleton, 7,7,-9,5; O’Neill d. Ernesto Ebuen, 8,5,-8,9.
U2375 – Final: Barry Dattel d. Shawn Embleton, -8,7,2,6,-6,9; SF: Dattel d. Khaleel Asgarali, 6,8,-8,8,9; Embleton d. Robert Chen, 7,6,9,9.
U2250 – Final: Khaleel Asgarali d. Lim Ming Chui, -8,-5,9,13,8,3; SF: Asgarali d. Christopher Lehman, 4-1; Chui d. Larry Bavly, 6,-7,7,10,7.
U2125 – Final: Khaleel Asgarali d. Antwain Davis, 3,-8,3,-8,10,9; SF: Asgarali d. Alden Fan, 7,5,5,7; Davis d. Judy Hugh, 7,-9,6,-7,-7,8,7.
U2000 – Final: Usama Nausrudeen d. Alden Fan, 7,6,8,-9,9; SF: Nausrudeen d. Merritt Chip Saxe, -4,-6,9,8,12,8; Fan d. Peihe Yuan, 9,6,-12,8,4.
U1850: Percival Dublin d. Peihe Yuan, -6,-7,5,8,-3,8,9.
U1700: Peihe Yuan d. Olayinka Adeshiyan, 6,8,5,12.
U1550: Minh-Vu Nguyen d. Edward Levy, 9,9,-4,6,4.
U1400: Manuel Tan d. Reginald Tademy, 7,-7,5,9,9.
U1250: Douglas Ljungkvist d. Tony Phan, -5,-6,-5,9,9,9,9.
U1100: Wesley Fan d. Nelson Godfrey, -6,5,-8,-5,11,8,5.
U950: 1st Andrew Russel; 2nd Kyle Parish.
U800/Novice: 1st Charles Homer; 2nd Shadia Santos.
U4200 Doubles: Shawn Embleton/Usama Nausrudeen d. Grantley Charles/Brian Fowler, 9,7,9.
U3200 Doubles: Allen Brady/Robert Jones d. Stanislav Leonov/Alex Stankevich, 7,12,20.
Under 22: Han Xiao d. Adam Hugh, n.s.
Under 18: Adam Hugh d. Khaleel Asgarali, 7,3,5,5.
Under 16: Alden Fan d. Joseph Wang, 8,11,-7,6,4.
Under 13: Joseph Wang d. Tomer Aronheim, 5,6,12,-5,10.
Over 40: Atanda Musa d. Barry Dattel, 6,6,9,9.
Over 50: Lim Ming Chui d. Christopher Lehman, 5,12,3,8.
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