Polish Open: Winners Secure Passports to Grand Finals

Monday, November 15, 2010

ITTF Press Release

Top seeds Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus and LI Jiao of the Netherlands won the respective Men’s and Women’s Singles titles at the Polish Open in Warsaw on Sunday 14th November 2010.

Both qualify for the ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals to be staged in the Korean city of Seoul from Thursday 16th to Sunday 19th December 2010.

At the final hurdle, Vladimir SAMSONOV defeated Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, the no.2 seed, having one round earlier accounted for Korea’s RYU Seung Min, the 2004 Olympic champion and no.3 seed.

It was for Vladimir SAMSONOV his third appearance on the ITTF Pro Tour in 2010 and his third Men’s Singles victory; earlier in the year he won in Korea and Morocco.

Meanwhile, LI Jiao overcame Romania’s Daniela DODEAN, the no. 11 seed, in the semi-finals and Spain’s SHEN Yanfei, the no.3 seed, in the final, to collect her second career ITTF Pro Tour Women’s Singles crown; the previous success being in January 2008 at the Slovenian Open in Velenje.

Seeking a place in the prestigious ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals was a major goal for the leading players competing in the Polish Open; in the Men’s Doubles event, both finalists achieved that goal.

Portugal’s Marcos FREITAS and Croatia’s Andrej GACINA beat the Czech Republic partnership of Antonin GAVLAS and Petr KORBEL to clinch gold; both pairs have met the minimum qualification requirements of being partners in four ITTF Pro Tour tournaments in 2010 and by reaching the final secured the necessary top eight finish.

It was for both pairs their first ever ITTF Pro Tour Men’s Doubles’ final.

Similarly, in the Women’s Doubles event, it was the first time that either pair had appeared in an ITTF Pro Tour final; the verdict went in favour of Japan’s Haruna FUKUOKA and Reiko HIURA who beat Turkey’s HE Sirin and HU Melek to clinch gold.

HE Sirin and HU Melek qualify for the ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals in eighth position but there is no place in Seoul for Haruna FUKUOKA and Reiko HIURA, it was only the second time they had appeared as a partnership on the ITTF Pro Tour in 2010; thus they did not meet the minimum qualification requirements.

The Polish Open was the last tournament on the ITTF Pro Tour calendar for 2010 prior to the Grand Finals.

Men’s Singles
Semi-Finals
Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) bt RYU Seung Min (KOR) 13-11, 8-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-4
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (BLR) bt Patrick BAUM (GER) 11-4, 11-7, 11-6, 11-8

Final
Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) bt Dimitrj OVTCHAROV (GER) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8

Women’s Singles
Semi-Finals
LI Jiao (NED) bt Daniela DODEAN (ROU) 11-3, 4-11, 11-13, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9
SHEN Yanfei (ESP) bt LEE Eun Hee (KOR) 11-4, 11-9, 11-5, 11-3

Final
LI Jiao (NED) bt SHEN Yanfei (ESP) 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6

Men’s Doubles
Final
Marcos FREITAS / Andrej GACINA (POR/HRV) bt Antonin GAVLAS / Petr KORBEL (CZE) 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8

Women’s Doubles
Final
Haruna FUKUOKA / Reiko HIURA (JPN) bt HE Sirin / HU Melek (TUR) 11-3, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6

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Polish Open: Winners Secure Passports to Grand Finals

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