WTT Continues to Cause Upsets! Second Top Seed Eliminated, World Champion Suffers a 0-3 Defeat, Tomokazu Harimoto Wins Big
Beijing time on January 15th, 2025, the WTT regular challenge match in Muscat continued. The first round has concluded with four Chinese players participating in the men's singles, three advancing and one eliminated.
Xu Yingbin lost 0-3 to Ochamov, with scores of 6-11, 11-13, and 9-11. The last two sets were close losses, both decided by crucial points. Xu has not performed well in consecutive singles events, being eliminated early, indicating that his singles form is still lacking.
Huang Youzheng defeated Manav Vikash Thakkar 3-1, after losing the first set 8-11, he won the next three sets 11-3, 11-6, and 11-9 to achieve a comeback. Huang's overall strength was superior, but he did not perform at his best, lacking rhythm. He won due to his hard power and dominance in prolonged rallies.
Chen Yuanyu beat Apollonia 3-1, with scores of 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, and 11-6. His performance was relatively stable, and he could launch attacks in the latter two sets, also having an advantage in strength.
Xiang Peng won 3-0 against French player Jules Rolland, with scores of 11-9, 13-11, and 11-8. Although he won in three sets, the matches were closely contested and not easy. The scores show how close they were, with Jules Rolland possessing strong attacking capabilities and actively seizing attacks, performing outstandingly. Xiang Peng had no significant advantage, but fortunately, he successfully grasped the key points.
In the Japanese team's matches, one player was eliminated. World champion Yoshikawa Makoto suffered a 0-3 defeat in the first round, losing to Indian player Manav Thakkar. He made many mistakes and did not gain an advantage in rallies, failing to match Manav Thakkar's rhythm, playing awkwardly. Manav Thakkar is fast and powerful.
Tomokazu Harimoto swept Navis Shams 3-0, with scores of 11-5, 11-9, and 16-14. He won the first set steadily and began facing challenges in the second set, continuously losing points in receiving serves and directly conceding several serves while trailing, then reversing the situation. The third set was even more fiercely contested to high scores.
Tomokazu Harimoto adapted well and made timely adjustments in receiving serves, achieving results. In terms of strength, Tomokazu Harimoto is much higher, but he is not familiar with his opponent's spin, maintaining the good form from last week.
Daiki Yoshizuka defeated Gnanasekaran 3-1, with scores of 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, and 11-8. After losing the first set, he achieved a comeback, with Daiki Yoshizuka's recent performance being quite remarkable. Koki Niwa defeated Picard 3-1 with scores of 11-6, 11-5, 3-11, and 11-7. He was distracted in the third set but could regain his state in the fourth.
Among the top eight seeds, there have been successive upsets. Huang Yancheng defeated the No. 3 seed Aruna 3-0, with scores of 11-5, 11-8, and 12-10. Aruna's performance in this match was poor, with low-quality attacks and a lackadaisical attitude.
Borete defeated the No. 8 seed Australian player Lu Wei 3-2, with scores of 11-9, 8-11, 11-3, 9-11, and 11-6. They fought for five sets, with Lu Wei steadily improving in the past year, and Borete playing aggressively with some risky shots and fast speed.
In other matches, Guo Guanhong defeated Pei Huan 3-2, Simon Gauzy defeated Robles 3-2, and Wong Chun Ting defeated Harmeet Desai 3-0.