Polish Open: Timo Triumphant

Wins doubles event also

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

ITTF Press Release

Germany’s Timo BOLL completed his participation in the ITTF Pro Tour Polish Open in Warsaw on Sunday 17 October 2004 by winning the Men’s Singles title at the final expense of Croatia’s Zoran PRIMORAC and thus added a second title to his collection in the Torwar Sports Hall, having won the Men’s Doubles title with Christian SÜSS earlier in the afternoon.

BOLL dominated proceedings with his quick attacking play emerging victorious in five games.

`I had a good head today’, smiled BOLL after walking off court following his success against PRIMORAC. `The first two games were very important for me, I was a little tired having played CHEN Weixing in the Men’s Singles semis and then CHEN Weixing and Panagiotis GIONIS in the Men’s Doubles final.’ Playing against these two defensive artists must always be hard work, competing against such players is not only physically demanding but also mentally exhausting.

Nevertheless, BOLL underlined his stature as a player of World class and was impressive against the in form PRIMORAC. `He was playing very well in Poland’, said BOLL. `He beat Peter KARLSSON in straight games, a player to whom he often loses and I felt it was important that he didn’t get a good start in the match because his confidence would then have been very high; my view was that if could achieve a good start he might be a little down and I would overcome any feeling of tiredness.’

However, PRIMORAC is a vastly experienced player, he has competed and succeeded on the World stage for almost twenty years and to his credit he recovered to win the fourth game. `I was leading 6-2 in that game, he started to play very well indeed and I became a little tentative, I lost the game and after that it was a big fight’, said the newly crowned Polish Open Men’s Singles champion.

`In the fifth game I concentrated my attacks more to the middle and to his forehand; he’s very good from the backhand’, continued BOLL. `I played more aggressively and it paid off.’ It was BOLL’s fourth Men’s Singles success on the ITTF Pro Tour and his second only ever contest against Zoran PRIMORAC at a major international event.

BOLL ‘s first ITTF Pro Tour Men’s Singles title was in Brazil in 2001, his second in Austria the following year and his third in Japan in 2003, whilst in their one international encounter at the World Cup in November 2002, BOLL won a hard fought seven games match.

In Warsaw, BOLL defeated PRIMORAC once again; disappointment for the Croatian but a definite return to form and for BOLL a deserved win. He has had his fair share of misfortunes on the ITTF Pro Tour in 2004; prior to the Polish Open he has played in three ITTF Pro Tour tournaments his year and every loss in the Men’s Singles has been by the narrowest of seven game margins. Twice he has been beaten by Romania’s Adrian CRISAN, at the Greek Open it was a second round exit losing the final game 17-15, in Japan at the Volkwagen Open a quarter-final defeat falling 11-9 in the decider whilst at the Volkswagen Open in China 11-9 in the seventh was the cruel outcome against China’s CHEN Qi.
However, in Poland there were no such frustrations of having been so near yet so far, he won the Men’s Singles title and in so doing was never extended the full seven games distance.

Men’s Singles: Final
Timo BOLL (GER) bt Zoran PRIMORAC (HRV) 11-9, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8

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Polish Open: Timo Triumphant

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