Wang Chuqin won his first match since the injury that kept him out for more than a month, and Miwa Harimoto came through a deciding game on the opening day of WTT Champions Frankfurt, where all seven of the top-eight seeds in action reached the last 16.
Wang beat Denmark's Anders Lind 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 after trailing in the first game, while Harimoto, the highest-ranked woman left in the draw, needed five games to get past Austria's Sofia Polcanova. Thirteen first-round matches were played at the Süwag Energie Arena, and the day also brought two more withdrawals.
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Wang's return
Wang was the world No 1 for much of the year. He lost the Asian Games final to Lin Shidong on 28 September, withdrew injured from China Smash two days later and then missed the Asian Championships and WTT Champions Montpellier. He arrived in Frankfurt as the world No 4, and the first match of his return was the one to watch on the opening day.
It showed the time away. Lind led him 5-1 and then 7-5 in the first game, and Wang looked short of rhythm until he won six points in a row to take it 11-7. He wasted several game points in the second before closing it 14-12, then led 5-1 in the third and won in 27 minutes. A player coming back from injury usually needs a few matches to find his timing on the fast exchanges, and there were spells when Lind was the sharper.
He said afterwards that he was still feeling his way back and hoped to last a few more matches, Jimu News reported. Whether his body holds up over a week of matches is now the question. He plays China's Wen Ruibo or South Korea's An Jaehyun in the last 16.
Zhou Qihao, the 10th seed, joined him with an 11-5, 11-5, 12-10 win over France's Thibault Poret in 18 minutes. He told Sina Sports that his quick start and his control of his own errors had made the difference. Zhou's next opponent is Lin Yun-Ju.
Harimoto survives
Polcanova, ranked 50th and in the draw on a wildcard, took the first game 13-11 and levelled the match at two games all after Harimoto had won the second and third. Harimoto, 18, won the decider 11-7 after 40 minutes.
"It was really very hard," Harimoto told tischtennis.de, adding that she had struggled to refocus at the start of a new tournament and that her points came more from her opponent's mistakes than her own attacking. She meets South Korea's Joo Cheonhui next.
Joo reversed last week's result against Adriana Diaz. The Puerto Rican beat her in straight games in Montpellier, but in Frankfurt Joo won 11-8, 11-8, 2-11, 11-3, recovering from a third game in which she won two points.
Lin's comeback and the longest match
Lin Yun-Ju, the fifth seed, played the longest match of the day. Slovenia's Darko Jorgic won the first game 11-6 and the third 14-12 to lead 2-1, but Lin dropped three points in the fourth and won the decider 11-8 after 41 minutes 20 seconds.
Tomokazu Harimoto, the second seed, had a quicker afternoon. He beat Vladimir Sidorenko, who knocked out Sora Matsushima in Montpellier, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 in under 20 minutes. Matsushima, the world No 1 and top seed, beat Portugal's João Geraldo 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 in the evening session, so all three Japanese players on the day went through. Matsushima plays Croatia's Tomislav Pucar next.
Dang Qiu gets Germany going
Dang Qiu, last year's runner-up and the only German playing on Tuesday, beat Sweden's Elias Ranefur 3-11, 14-12, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7. He lost the first game heavily, needed four game points to take the second, and lost the third after Ranefur converted his third game point.
He could meet his Germany teammate Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the last 16. Ovtcharov plays Egypt's Omar Assar on Wednesday evening, one of six Germans in action on day two.
Takahashi, Goda and Szőcs through
Brazil's Bruna Takahashi came from a game down to beat Taiwan's Cheng I-Ching 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7, and plays Chen Xingtong next. Chen, the sixth seed, beat South Korea's Kim Nayeong 11-1, 11-6, 11-7.
Egypt's Hana Goda, 18, beat France's Jia Nan Yuan, who is 41, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7 in 39 minutes. Romania's Bernadette Szőcs beat Taiwan's Peng Yu-han 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 in 16 minutes 20 seconds, the shortest match of the day. In the last match, Pucar beat Flavien Coton, France's 18-year-old, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6.
Two more withdrawals
Truls Moregard, the third seed and world No 5, has withdrawn and Sweden's Kristian Karlsson takes his place against South Korea's Oh Junsung on Thursday. Chinese media reported that Moregard had pulled out injured. South Korea's Shin Yubin, the 10th seed, has also withdrawn, and Amy Wang of the US now plays Kuai Man in the first round.
Japan's Hiroto Shinozuka had already withdrawn, with An Jaehyun replacing him. Nine of the original 64 players have now pulled out, including Wang Manyu, Sun Yingsha, Lin Shidong and both Lebrun brothers.
Results in full
- Miwa Harimoto (JPN) bt Sofia Polcanova (AUT) 11-13, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7
- Zhou Qihao (CHN) bt Thibault Poret (FRA) 11-5, 11-5, 12-10
- Chen Xingtong (CHN) bt Kim Nayeong (KOR) 11-1, 11-6, 11-7
- Wang Chuqin (CHN) bt Anders Lind (DEN) 11-7, 14-12, 11-9
- Joo Cheonhui (KOR) bt Adriana Diaz (PUR) 11-8, 11-8, 2-11, 11-3
- Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) bt Vladimir Sidorenko 11-6, 11-8, 11-7
- Bruna Takahashi (BRA) bt Cheng I-Ching (TPE) 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7
- Lin Yun-Ju (TPE) bt Darko Jorgic (SLO) 6-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-3, 11-8
- Dang Qiu (GER) bt Elias Ranefur (SWE) 3-11, 14-12, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7
- Bernadette Szőcs (ROU) bt Peng Yu-han (TPE) 11-9, 11-8, 11-8
- Sora Matsushima (JPN) bt João Geraldo (POR) 11-6, 11-8, 11-7
- Hana Goda (EGY) bt Jia Nan Yuan (FRA) 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7
- Tomislav Pucar (CRO) bt Flavien Coton (FRA) 11-9, 11-9, 11-6
Day two
The first round continues on Wednesday from 11am UK time, when Germany's Annett Kaufmann plays Hong Kong's Doo Hoi Kem. Wang Yidi, the third seed, meets the German defender Han Ying at 12.10pm and Hina Hayata plays Lily Zhang of the US at 2.30pm. In the evening session Anton Källberg plays Lim Jonghoon at 6.05pm and Ovtcharov meets Assar at 7.15pm.
