Photo: LIN Yun-Ju(Chinese Taipei, left) and CHEN Xingtong(China, right)/ By ittfworld
2019 ITTF World Tour Czech Open was held from August 20th to 25th, with 5 titles, including men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mix doubles.
As in the Bulgarian Open, Chinese top players did not enter, and Japan, which is aiming for gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, wanted to win the tournaments, but there was a great upset that HARIMOTO Tomokazu, who was the champion at the Bulgaria Open, lost in the round 32.
It was also the first time in 1064 days that 4 players who advanced to the finals of the men’s and women’s singles represented different countries.
Men’s results:
Photo: OVTCHAROV Dimitrij(Germany) got the 2nd place./ By ittfworld
In the men’s singles, LIN Yun-Ju(Chinese Taipei) won his first World Tour title beating German BOLL Timo and OVTCHAROV Dimitrij in a row. OVTCHAROV Dimitrij got the 2nd place.
HARIMOTO Tomokazu was leading PLETEA Cristian by 3-1, but PLETEA Cristian showed amazing comeback ended up HARIMOTO Tomokazu withdrawing in the round 32.
After defeating HARIMOTO, PLETEA Cristian faced HIRANO Yuki in the round 16. HIRANO won 3 games in a row from 1-3, and was the only Japanese men’s player to advance to the quarterfinals.
HIRANO faced LIN Yun-Ju, the champion of the tournament, in the quarter finals. In the 1st game, HIRANO was left behind and lost 1st game. Even though HIRANO played his best, he lost in the straight game.
NIWA Koki played against FREITAS Marcos in the round 32. NIWA was lost against FREITAS Marcos at Bulgaria Open. This time, NIWA got the 1st game and was thought to win the match by keeping the momentum, but he couldn’t after losing 4 games in a row.
MIZUTANI Jun defeated STEGER Bastian in the 1st round. And then he played against rapidly growing FRANZISKA Patrick in the 2nd round. Even though MIZUTANI got the match point firstly, he was upset by FRANZISKA Patrick in the full-game match.
Women’s results:
Photo: HIRANO Miu showed incredible toughness./ By ittfworld
In the women’s singles, CHEN Xingtong won her 2nd World Tour title following the Bulgaria Open. HIRANO Miu won the difficult matches and came in the 2nd place.
In the quarter finals, HIRANO Miu defeated LIU Weishan by winning 4 games in a row, although she had her back to the wall by 0-3. In the following semi-finals, HIRANO Miu faced ISHIKAWA Kasumi, her colleague, and downed ISHIKAWA Kasumi by 4-1. In the finals as well, HIRANO Miu showed an astonishing toughness, catching up with CHEN Xingtong from 0-3 to full-game.
ISHIKAWA Kasumi faced two Chinese players in the round 16 and the quarter finals in a row, but she was consistent to play as usual and won those 2 matches. Especially in the quarter finals, ISHIKAWA overwhelmed HE Zhuojia, who had won against ISHIKAWA for 3 times in a row.
ITO Mima met CHEN Xingtong, who won the tournament, in the round 16. It was the re-match of Bulgaria Open finals. ITO lost the rematch by 2-4 and couldn’t make her revenge.
In the women’s doubles, GU Yuting/MU Zi won the 2nd title following the Bulgaria Open, and HIRANO Miu/SHIBATA Saki became runner-up in 2 consecutive tournaments.
Mix doubles results:
Photo: MIZUTANI Jun and ITO Mima couldn’t make their way of winning 2nd World Tournament title in a row./By ittfworld
In the mix doubles, Korean CHO Daeseong/SHIN Yubin got their 1st World Tournament title, and the golden pair of Bulgaria Open MIZUTANI Jun/ITO Mima was the runner-up.
In the finals, MIZUTANI and ITO overcame Korean pair’s match point in the 4th game. In the end, they lost against Korean pair even though they got the match point firstly in the final game.
Rallys Editional
