Long sets up all-Chinese title clash against Zhendong

The women’s final will be contested between Germany’s Han Ying and China’s Zhu YulingMa Long has been in a class of his own for some time now. The World No. 1 Chinese paddler has been dominating the table tennis circuit and yesterday in Doha he showed a glimpse of that.The Rio Olympic and world champion cruised into the final of the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals after another commanding victory, a 4-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 14-12) rout of Jeoung Youngsik of South Korea, in the semi-finals.A little later, China’s Fan Zhendong beat compatriot Xu Xin 4-2 (11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9) to set up another all-Chinese title clash against Ma Long.No. 12 seed Youngsik has been the surprise element of the tournament so far, having defeated higher seeds Vladimir Samsonov and Chuang Chih-Yuan.But yesterday, the Korean was up against a different class of player in Mo Long, the top seed. To his credit Youngsik did put up a fight, but never looked like winning any of the first three games. With his back to the wall, Youngsik came out firing in the fourth set, even managing a game point. But Ma Long won the decisive moments in the game to seal the match.“I think both Jeoung and I played at a high level during the match tonight. I won four-nil but the score in all four games was very close. Today my handling of crucial points was also quite good and I think Jeoung played well,” said Ma Long.“He’s grown and improved a lot over the past two years. In the previous matches, he had to recover from two-nil down to win, so it shows that he has very strong skills and is very capable. Tonight I was in control of the match overall,” the defending champion added.For Zhendong though, it was a test of his temperament and fatigue. In the quarterfinals played in the afternoon, the Chinese No. 2 seed had recovered from a two-game deficit to beat Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the No. 8 seed, 4-2 (9-11, 10-12, 15-13, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5).Zhendong, however, showed little effect of that stressful match as he took the opening game in no time.Third seed Xu Xin won the second and fourth games, but Zhendong unleashed some spectacular shots to clinch the fifth and sixth games and close out the match.Xu Xin played some powerful forehand top spin returns, but Zhendong anticipated well and blocked every shot to leave his countryman stunned. In the quarters, Xu Xin had overpowered Japan’s Yuto Muramatsu, the No. 10 seed, in straight games (11-2, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4).The women’s final will be contested between Germany’s Han Ying and China’s Zhu Yuling. Both the paddlers snuffed out any chances off an all-Japanese final.Third seed Yuling beat second seed Kasumi Ishikawa, winner two years ago in Bangkok, 4-0 (16-14, 11-3, 11-8, 11-7).The highly-rated Miu Hirano was the other Japanese to bow out in the semis. The 16-year-old teen, seeded No. 10 here, lost to Germany’s Han Ying, the No. 11 seed, 0-4 (2-11, 4-11, 3-11, 5-11).Hirano had shocked World No. 6 and fourth seed Feng Tianwei of Singapore in the round of 16, but yesterday she had no answer to Ying’s defensive game.Ying relies more on technique, with the 33-year-old German possessing a solid backspin return. And Hirano’s aggressive approach fell flat against the experienced Ying. The two had met earlier this year in Kuwait, where Ying needed full seven games to secure victory. But yesterday Ying controlled the game from start, as Hirano committed plenty of unforced errors.“Today I had a good balance between attack and defence. I felt confident. Last time when we played in Kuwait, I won the first three games but then Hirano played much stronger. I was prepared for a tough match, I’m surprised that I won so easily,” a delighted Ying said.Hirano also seemed to suffering from fatigue, having arrived in Doha after playing the World Junior Championships last week.The other Japanese on the night, Ishikawa, was always going to struggle against Yuling, having just won once against the Chinese in eight attempts.The first game was a close affair, with Yuling employing defence and attack in equal measure. After Yuling managed to snatch the opener in 16-14, she cruised through the next three games to book her place in the final.