GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour, Qatar Open (Super) (Click here to access this section)
Benjamin Brossier of France and Romania’s Bernadette Szocs won the respective Under 21 Men’s Singles and Under 21 Women’s Singles titles in Doha on the evening of Friday 20th February, the first titles to be decided at the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Qatar Open.
Not seeded, having had to progress through the preliminary rounds, Benjamin Brossier overcame the defensive skills of the Slovak Republic’s Wang Yang, the top seed, in the penultimate round (9-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-2), before clinching the title at the final expense of Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit, the no.8 seed (12-10, 11-4, 11-8).
In the counterpart semi-final, Ho Kwan Kit had also beaten a defensive player.
He accounted for Korea’s Kang Dongsoo, the no.4 seed (11-13, 11-8, 11-3, 12-10).
Singaporeans Suffer
Meanwhile, in the latter two rounds enacted on the fourth day of action; Bernadette Szocs ended Singaporean dreams.
Occupying the no.5 seeded position in the draw, she accounted for Zhou Yihan, the no.4 seed, in the penultimate round (11-7, 11-5, 11-8), before saving match points on three occasions in the decisive fifth game to overcome Lin Ye, the no.3 seed (11-7, 5-11, 10-12, 11-6, 14-12). In the counterpart semi-final, Lin Ye had beaten Hong Kong qualifier Li Ching Wan (12-10, 11-7, 11-13, 12-10).
Adapted to Style
“I made a good start but then she became used to my style, she knew how I played, she made changes”, said Bernadette Szocs after beating Lin Ye in the final. “I felt I had nothing to lose; she is above me on the rankings, so I just tried my best.”
The key stage of the match came in the fourth game when Li Yi was ahead 6-4 and led by two games to one; it seemed she was honing in on victory.
Bernadette Szocs recovered to win the game, not losing one further point before eventually succeeding in a dramatic deciding game.
Served Half Long
“I decided to serve half long; if I served short she used the banana return and the top spin on the ball caused me problems”, added Bernadette Szocs. “All the players I have played in this event have been from Asia; I yell to motivate myself but I think this also has an effect on them, they go down.”
Certainly no-one slept when Bernadette Szocs was playing.
Met in Kuwait
It was the first time that Bernadette Szocs had played Lin Ye, conversely Benjammin Brossier and Ho Kwan Kit were no strangers.
They had met the previous week in Kuwait with Benjamin Brossier emerging successful in five games in their Under 21 Men’s Singles quarter-final duel (11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6).
