The three-day event came to the conclusion when the Japanese
hardly dropped a sweat when he beat Carlos Vedriel from Spain 4-0 in
what was a one-sided final while Zhu, despite an upper hand, overcame a stiff
resistance to beat Park Seri of Korea 4-2. The each winner will carry home
$3,800 while the runners-up both sections receive $2,100 each.
The boys’ final did not raise any din that one would have
expected as the Japanese was fast and attacking right from the first game.
Carlos, on the other hand, having played a hard-fought semifinal was under some
sort of strain and that was very much evident in his game plan.
The fifth-seeded Japanese stopped his rival at seven points
in the first two games and then hastened the proceedings further by finishing
off with three and five points in the third and fourth to lift the crystal
trophy.
“I played my natural game as I was determined to attack
right from the word go. Carlos was making surprisingly too many mistakes and it
helped my cause,” said the Japanese. “I could gauge his body language after the
second game and I simply kept the ball on the table for him to make mistakes,”
added the fifth seed.
Even the girls’ final too seemed going to semifinals way
when the 12th seeded Korean changed her strategy with a lot of service
variations, including tossed-up services, to outsmart her Hong
Kong rival Zhu Chengzhu. But the third seed was quick to grasp it
and adapt her game accordingly despite losing the fifth game which saw good
rallies being converted into excellent winners by the Korean
The win had restored some confidence in Park but in the next
Zhu was up to the task and surged ahead with a 3-1 lead and 5-3. But credit
must go to the Korean for her patience as she made it it 7-all before giving
away a three negative points much to the delight of the girl from Hong Kong .
“When I entered the arena for the final, the loss to Park
Seri in the group match was at the back of my mind. I wanted to make amends for
the 2-4 loss and more determined. But she quickly changed her strategy but I
adapted quickly to the changes. Even in the sixth game she was down but came
back to level 7-7, slowing down the game. Luckily, she gave three easy points
that helped my cause,” said Zhu.
A Mixed bag
After having playing so well for the past two days, American
Zhang Kai failed against the fifth seed in the penultimate round as the
Japanese Izumo Takuto just toyed with him. After putting himself in the comfort
zone, he let Zhang take a game but even before he could take any further
liberty the fifth seed stopped Zhang without a fuss. No doubt, Zhang tried all
tricks in his book in the fifth game which Izumo won on extended points.
In contrast, the second semifinal between top-seed Korean An
Jaehyun and 10th seed Spaniard Crlos Vedriel went the full distance and had all
glimpses of a top-shot match with long rallies, fast backhand drives and
service variations.
The Korean was down and out at 0-3 with Carlos hitting a
nice rhythm. In the fourth game, too, Carlos went up 7-5 after being down 3-5 and
was just four points away from the match. That was when Jaehyun took his early
timeout and it paid dividends as he first levelled the score and benefited from
a couple of net errors by his opponent to win his first game. In the next, he
ran away with a huge lead to win. But it was the sixth game where both were
wobbly with fortunes changing hands with slender leads. But when Carlos missed
his first match point, the Korean shut him down to take the issue to the
decider.
In the decider, Carlos was lagging behind by a few points
when the Korean went 5-3 up. But the Spaniard closed down on the lead and
played brilliant combination drives with great speed. Already under pressure,
the No. 1 seed could not cope with his rival’s sudden burst and wilted committing
a crucial service error at 7-7 to allow his opponent an upper hand. After
losing the first match-point, he served well to cash in on the second and win.
But the girls’ semifinals did not throw up any surprises
both Romanians bowed out when the third-seed Zhu Chengzhu from Hong Kong easily
beat No. 5 Andreea Dragoman and top-seeded Adina Daconu went down to twelfth
seeded Korean Park Seri, both 4-0 verdicts.
Depite being technically sound and having good service
variations, Zhu struggled a bit—she was extended in three games—before putting
it across Andreea. Park Seri, too, faced some heat, particularly in the second
and fourth, against Adina but then the Korean determination won her the day.
Results:
Junior Boys: Final: Izumo Takuto (JPN) bt Carlos Vedriel
(ESP) 4-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-3, 11-5); Semifinals: Izumo Takuto (JPN) bt
Zhang Kai (USA) 4-1 (11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10), Carlos Vedriel (ESP) bt An
Jaehyun (KOR) 4-3 (11-7, 13-11, 11-8, 8-11, 1-11, 10-12, 11-8).
Junior Girls: Final: Zhu Chengzhu (HKG) bt Park Seri
(KOR) 4-2 (11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7);Semifinals: Zhu Chengzhu (HKG)
bt Andreea Dragoman (ROU) 4-0 (12-10, 12-10, 11-4, 12-10), Park Seri (KOR) bt
Adina Diaconu (ROU) 4-0 (11-5, 14-12, 11-7, 12-10).
TTFI release
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