January 23, 2012
Liu Shiwen Starts the New Year Just as She Finished the Old
 Liu Shiwen totally focused in Budapest Photo By: Richard Kalocsai |
Courtesy of ITTF In November 2011, she won the Women’s Singles title in London’s ExCel Arena at the ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals; on Saturday January 21, 2012, she secured the Women’s Singles title at the Hungarian Open, the first tournament on the GAC GROUP 2012 World Tour. |
Seeded no.4, at the final hurdle she overcame Chinese National Team compatriot, 29 year old Guo Yan, the no.3 seed to arrest claims the crown.
Six Games Win
Liu Shiwen won in six games (8-11, 11-2, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6.
Tenth Final
It was the tenth time that Liu Shiwen had reached a Women’s Singles final on Tour, it was the sixth time she had won and to that record you can add one more to both numbers.
On the one occasion she reached the ultimate round in the Grand Finals, in London last year, she succeeded.
Bridesmaid Again
Meanwhile, for Guo Yan she was once again the bridesmaid.
Notably, on the two occasions she has reached the final of the Women’s Singles event at the Grand Finals she has emerged victorious, she won in December 2008 and in January 2010, both times in Macao.
However, on the road she has now appeared in no less than 24 Women’s Singles finals; the defeat in Budapest means the runners up spot has been her lot on no less than 18 occasions!
ITTF Pro Tour Record Favored Guo Yan
Predicting the winner of the contest between Guo Yan and Liu Shiwen was an intriguing task; they had met on 12 previous occasions at International level with Guo Yan having eight victories to her credit.
Predominantly when they had met on the ITTF Pro Tour the verdict had gone in favor of Guo Yan; it was unusual in Budapest when the reverse occurred.
Only Two Previous Wins
They had met on ten previous occasions and Guo Yan had won eight of the duels. The only occasions when Liu Shiwen had succeeded had been in January 2009 at the quarter-final stage of the Women’s Singles event at the Slovenian Open and one month later in the third round at the Qatar Open in Doha.
World Championships
However, at World Championships when they have faced each other; the scenario has been the complete reverse. They have met twice and both times Liu Shiwen has won in a most impressive manner; she succeeded on each occasion in four straight games.
In May 2010 at the H.I.S. World Championships in Yokohama she won when the pair met in the fourth round of the Women’s Singles event; then two years later in Rotterdam at the GAC GROUP 2011 World Championships, she succeeded at the quarter-final stage.
Hoodoo Broken, Tradition Continued
At the GAC GROUP Hungarian Open, the ITTF Pro Tour hoodoo was broken, the World Championships legacy was continued, the top prize belonged to Liu Shiwen.
Guo Yan, once again a Women’s Singles runner up
Photo by Richard Kalocsai
Men's Singles Final
Ma Long (CHN) def Joo Se Hyuk (KOR) 4-3
(7-11,11-4,4-11,11-4,7-11,11-7,11-8)
Women's Singles Final
Liu Shiwen (CHN) def Guo Yan (CHN) 4-2
(8-11,11-2,7-11,11-5,11-6,11-6)
Men's Doubles Final
Chen Qi (CHN) / Ma Lin (CHN) def Xu Xin (CHN) / Zhang Jike (CHN)
4-0
(11-4, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6)
Women's Doubles Final
Ding Ning (CHN) / Liu Shiwen (CHN) def Fan Ying (CHN) / Wu Yang (CHN)
4-1 (11-4,8-11,11-6,11-5,11-6)
More Coverage from ITTF
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