China’s Liu Shiwen upset the seeding to reach the final of the
Women’s Singles event at the Harmony China Open in Suzhou on Sunday 7th
June 2009 by overcoming second seed, compatriot Li Xiaoxia, in their
penultimate round contest.
Eighteen year old Liu Shiwen, seeded
no.5, secured victory in five games to reach her second final on the
ITTF Pro Tour in 2009; her previous appearance being in January at the
Danish Open in Fredrikshaven, a tournament she went on to win.
Liu Shiwen gave a most impressive and mature display; she won 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9.
Fifth Meeting
It was the fifth meeting between the two players in world ranking events and the second time that Liu Shiwen has won.
Li
Xiaoxia won their first three encounters, succeeding in January 2006 at
the Croatian Open, in September 2007 at the Panasonic China Open and
later in the same year in November at the Swedish Open.
Most Recent
However,
on their most recent encounter prior to the duel in Suzhou, it was Liu
Shiwen who prevailed. She won in March 2008 at the Erke Qatar Open.
Fifteen months later she succeeded again.
Convincing Win
In the final, Liu Shiwen meets top seed, compatriot Guo Yue.
She overcame Korea’s Kim Kyung Ah in four straight games; she won by the margin of 11-8, 11-6, 13-11, 11-6.
It
was the most convincing of their five duels in world ranking events; in
previous encounters Kim Kyung Ah has always secured at least one game.
Hard Fought Matches
In
December 2004 Guo Yue won in five games at the Volkswagen Pro Tour
Finals, then in February 2005 she succeeded in seven games at the
Liebherr Qatar Open before suffering her one and only defeat against
the Korean.
At the Asian Championships in August 2005, Kim Kyung
Ah recorded a close five games win in the semi-finals of the Women’s
Team event before Guo Yue resumed normal service in February 2007 when
she won in six games at the Salwa Cup Kuwait Open.
In Suzhou, she won again, for the first time in straight games.
Source: www.ittf.com
