Germany’s Timo Boll is US$50,000 the richer.
He captured gold at the Liebherr Super Cup in a packed Vidnoye Sports Hall in Moscow on Wednesday 12th November 2008 beating Austria’s Werner Schlager in the final.
The German was in scintillating form and in an unforgiving mood; in seizing the top prize, he retained the title won twelve months earlier in Kazan and maintained the outstanding form he has displayed in recent months.
He finished in runners up spot at the Liebherr Men’s World Cup in September, then followed with a full house of titles at the Liebherr European Championships before adding to his bank balance by clinching gold in Moscow.
Two Games Dropped
Timo Boll dropped only two individual games en route to the title, those being at the semi-final and final stages, where firstly Jörgen Persson extracted a grain of success before Werner Schlager made a promising start by winning the first game in the final before surrendering the next four.
The in form German star beat Jörgen Persson 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 before overcoming Werner Schlager 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9.
More Exacting
Comprehensive wins for Timo Boll en route to gold but for Werner Schlager the path to the final was much more strenuous.
Having won a nail-biting final group contest against Denmark’s Michael Maze to secure qualification, the Austrian was involved in a thrilling duel when facing Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus in the semis.
Recoveries
Schlager led by two games to one and won the first five points of the fourth game before Samsonov recovered to win the games and level the match score.
Meanwhile, in the seventh game it was the reverse scenario. Samsonov led 8-5 but Schlager levelled at 9-all before winning the next two points to secure victory.
The 2003 Men’s Singles World champion won 11-5, 4-11, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9.
Bronze Medal
Defeat for Samsonov with the consolation prize being the bronze medal; in the match to determine third place he beat Jorgen Persson.
Vladimir Samsonov won 11-3, 17-15, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-5.
Source: www.ittf.com
