DOHA (Qatar): China’s Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng won the respective men’s singles and women’s singles titles at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open here on Sunday.
On the penultimate day of action, Ma Long and Xu Xin had combined to win the men’s doubles event, while the women’s doubles title went to another Chinese duo, Wang Manyu and Zhu Yuling. However, there would be no clean sweep as Japan’s Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito secured mixed doubles gold.
Fan returns to winning ways
One month after suffering an unexpected quarter-final exit at the hands of Dimitrij Ovtcharov at the German Open, Fan Zhendong capitalized on his first opportunity since then to return to winning ways, clinching the men’s singles title in Qatar. The world no.1 defeated England’s Liam Pitchford over six epic games in the final (11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7).
Fan survived a scare in the first round in Doha, when he was taken to seven games by Sweden’s Anton Kallberg (7-11, 11-6, 11-13, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3), but his title charge intensified after seeing off Sweden’s Jon Persson (11-9, 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10) in the quarter-final before winning yet another tight battle against China’s most promising teenage talent Wang Chuqin, the no.9 seed (7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 14-12, 11-7, 11-9).
Wang had caught the attentions of the table tennis world when in the second round he overcame the reigning Olympic and World champion Ma Long, the no.3 seed (13-15, 14-12, 4-11, 11-8, 3-11, 13-11, 11-6).
By overcoming Pitchford in the final, Fan regained his Qatar Open crown, having previously won in Doha in 2018, and also sealed his 14th career title on the ITTF World Tour.
“Today in the first game I was down 6-9 and then 0-4 in the second, but I was prepared for such a situation before the match. He (Pitchford) has been in good form over the past few matches, so I made sure to do my homework on him. I expected him to perform. His improvement and growth are there for the entire table tennis world to see. He is definitely an opponent to respect and be wary of,” Fan told ITTF.com
Pitchford almost enters Promised Land
The Qatar Open will forever be remembered as the tournament in which Liam Pitchford put himself within touching distance of a first ever ITTF World Tour men’s singles title.
The no.15 seed became the first ever Englishman to reach the men’s singles final at an ITTF World Tour Platinum tournament by completing a stunning victory over China’s Xu Xin, the no.2 seed (3-11, 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 15-13, 11-9), with what Pitchford later described as the “best win of my life.” The 26 year old from Chesterfield would then put on another show in the final against Fan Zhendong.
“It’s never nice to lose a final or even a match, but I can reflect positively on the tournament. I think I played well in the final. There were a few chances here and there that I didn’t take and you can’t afford to do that, especially against Fan Zhendong, but overall I think I played well,” said Pitchford .
