Eurosib Russian Open
Early Exit for Second Seed
Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, the number two seed in the
Men’s Singles event at the Eurosib Russian Open in St
Petersburg lost in the opening round to China’s Li Ping
on Friday 19th October 2007.
He was beaten in six games. Li Ping won 11-7, 7-11, 11-6,
11-8, 8-11, 11-4.
Victorious in St Petersburg in 2005, Vladimir Samsonov has
a career total of sixteen Men’s Singles titles on the
ITTF Pro Tour, a record only bettered by the Chinese superstars,
Wang Liqin and Ma Lin; by comparison it was only Li Ping’s
fifth appearance on the ITTF Pro Tour and he had never previously
ventured beyond the third round.
The third round is the stage that the rising Chinese star
reached at the end of the second day’s play; in round
two he overcame Sweden’s Jens Lundqvist but he was extended
the full seven games distance. Li Ping won a thrilling contest
11-8, 6-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 4-11, 13-11.
However, of the top four seeds the Men’s and Women’s
Singles events; Vladimir Samsonov was the only one to perish.
Top seed in the Men’s Singles event Timo Boll plus
third seed China’s Chen Qi and fourth seed, Singapore’s
Gao Ning all progressed successfully
Meanwhile, in the Women’s Singles event the leading
four players all advanced with a degree of comfort. Singapore’s
Li Jia Wei and Wang Yue Guo, seeded one and three respectively
booked their places in round three as did second seed, Hong
Kong’s Tie Yana and fourth seed, Japan’s Ai Fukuhara.
None were extended the full seven games distance.
However, in the qualification stage of the Women’s
Doubles event there was a shock in store for Li Jia Wei and
Wang Yue Gu. They lost to the Japanese pairing of Hiroko Fujii
and Kasumi Ishikawa.
It was a quite stunning victory. Kasumi Ishikawa is only
fourteen years old and as for Hiroko Fujii it was a birthday
present that came one day late. She celebrated her twenty-fifth
birthday on Thursday 18th October 2007.
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