China Smash: Shan surprised, four Germans advance!
September 30, 2024 – Patrick Franziska, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Sabine Winter and Xiaona Shan reached the second main round of the $2 million WTT China Smash in Beijing on Monday. The Berliner shone as an outsider against the world number 13. Bernadette Szöcs. Winter and Annett Kaufmann, who was already eliminated in the individual qualification, are the only Germans in the doubles competition on Tuesday. The winners in China will receive 100,000 euros in prize money.
Patrick Franziska was the first DTTB participant to make it to the round of 16 at the WTT Grand Smash in China on Monday. The Saarbrücken player easily defeated the Slovakian defender Wang Yang in four sets. “I had to get to the table very early and I was still feeling the jet lag a bit. But I’m definitely happy with my performance,” the Olympic substitute told the DTTB. According to his own statement, his next opponent will be a risk-taker. South Korea’s veteran Lee Sang Su eliminated the local hero Yuan Licen and is now in the box against Franziska. The event is over again for Steffen Mengel, as well as for Benedikt Duda, who was eliminated on Sunday. The Bundesliga player from Mühlhausen lost to the three-time Europe Top 16. Champion Darko Jorgic from 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT with 0:3.
After passing the qualification, Sabine Winter also cleared the first hurdle in the main round against Christina Källberg for the women. The two-time German champion played powerfully with her strong forehand and will now challenge the 2021 world champion, Wang Manyu, on Wednesday. “I definitely improved over the course of the tournament. Four months without competition had a noticeable impact. But I think I can continue to improve my game. In Beijing I always regained a little more self-confidence from game to game , which paid off with one or two good ideas in important situations. “I’m glad that the start to the main tournament went so well and I’m now looking forward to the doubles on Tuesday,” said Winter.
Shan surprises, Ovtcharov continues to fight
In the afternoon German time, Xiaona Shan met the Romanian Bernadette Szöcs. The world number 13. was the favorite, she also wanted to win the third of the four duels against the Berliner. But unlike at the Olympics, Shan presented himself in great shape, won 3-1 and is now facing the Chinese Zong Geman. “That was a really good game from me. I’ve never played against my next opponent before. Let’s see what awaits me,” summed up the penholder player.
Dimitrij Ovtcharov, on the other hand, managed to get revenge against Oh Junsung from South Korea for the narrow defeat in Muscat 2023. After the hard-fought 3-2 victory, the Fulda player continues against the Chinese Zhou Qihao, which only became clear in the last set. “I played well and hope I can do the same against Zhou,” said Ovtcharov. While the round of 16 will not be played until Wednesday, from a German perspective it will only be Winter and Annett Kaufmann’s turn in the doubles on Tuesday, against the South Korean-Japanese duo Kim Nayeong/Miyu Nagasaki. If successful, Adina Diaconu/Maria Xiao (Romania/Spain) would wait afterwards.
The German main round games at a glance:
Men’s singles
1st round (last 64)
Benedikt Duda – Omar Assar ONE 2:3 (15,-6,-7,6,-9)
Patrick Franziska – Yang Wang SVK 3:1 (-11,1,7,6)
Steffen Mengel – Darko Jorgic SLO 0:3 (-9,-6,-6)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Oh Junsung KOR 3:2 (7,-11,9,-6,3)
2nd round (last 32)
Patrick Franziska – Lee Sangsu KOR, Wednesday
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Zhou Qihao CHN, Wednesday
Women’s singles
1st round (last 64)
Sabine Winter – Christina Källberg SWE 3:1 (-6,11,10,4)
Xiaona Shan – Bernadette Szöcs ROU 3:1 (10,-8,1,8)
2nd round (last 32)
Sabine Winter – Wang Manyu CHN, Wednesday
Xiaona Shan – Zong Geman CHN, Mittwoch
Women’s doubles
1st round (last 32)
Annett Kaufmann/Sabine Winter – Kim Nayeong/Miyu Nagasaki KOR, Tuesday 12.35 p.m
All games and results can be found on the WTT website.
The main round games are broadcast Dyn.
(FKT)
