Wang Hao wins men's singles in Pro Tour Finals

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, December 15, 2003

Wang Hao wins men's singles in Pro Tour Finals

Wang Hao showed tougher nerves as he beat fellow Chinese Hao Shuai in the men's singles final on the last day of the ITTF Pro Tour Finals in Guangzhou on Sunday.

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Wang Hao wins men's singles in Pro Tour Finals

Wang Hao showed tougher nerves as he beat fellow Chinese Hao Shuai in the men's singles final on the last day of the ITTF Pro Tour Finals in Guangzhou on Sunday.

The fourth-ranked Wang, who plays a revised penhold attacking game and can top spin with the reversed rubber from both wings, snatched the match 4-3 (13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 7-11, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5) despite a controversial rule against him in the deciding set.

With Wang 1-2 down, umpire ignored a net ball and gave the point to Hao. Despite the hiccup, Wang scored five winners in a row and pulled further ahead to 10-5. Then a forehand kill gave Wang the champion's prize of 38,000 US dollars as well as a Volkswagen Beatle.

"I had a poor record against Hao Shuai, so I had expected a tough game today. The final turned out even tougher than I expected," said Wang.

"There are something I need to improve on, such as strength, rhythm and consistency in forehand.

"I hope I can make it to the 2004 Olympic Games. I am very confident to be a better player in Athens. But it's up to the coaches to decide.

"I was blamed for being soft in clutch moments. Today I showed my tough side. I beat Hao Shuai because of my experience in handling pressure and surprises."

Earlier Wang Hao snapped Swede Jens Lundqvist's giant killing run, which had brought down No. 1 Ma Lin and World Cup runner-up Kalinokos Kreanga of Greece, while Hao Shuai ousted hard-hitting South Korean Ryu Seung-Min in the other semi-final.

Wang, Croatian Open winner, downed the 32nd-ranked Swede 4-1 (11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8) by playing an aggressive game and returning brilliantly on the rival's wickedly spinning serves.

Lundqvist drew first blood in the second set, in which the Swede started a dream run of seven points and clinched the set 11-5.

The pair had conjured up some spectacular rallies in the fifth set before a wayward return ended the Swede's heroic run.

"I was aggressive throughout the game," said Wang after the semi-final. "My coach Liu Guoliang told me that I should believe in myself and keep thinking 'I'm the best'."

Hao Shuai fought a close game against South Korean Ryu, despite a 4-1 scoreline.

Hao, runner-up in Malaysian Open, benefited from his serves to set up killing shots, winning the first two sets 11-9, 11-9.

Ryu, six places higher than Hao's 18th, squandered a 6-1 lead to lose the third set 11-8, and was downhill all the way to give up the fourth 11-4.

There were less swings in the fifth set which went virtually point for points until Ryu's tops in went out after clipping the net.

Ryu showed the justifiable signs of nerves as he played a balloon shot to lose 13-11 and the match.

"I was lucky today because several returns of mine hit edge or kissed the net," said a modest Hao.

Chinese Niu Jianfeng added the women's doubles title to her singles crown as she combined with 16-year-old Guo Yue to beat Wang Nan and Zhang Yining in a seven-set thriller.

With six sets split even, Niu and Guo held off a late charge by the Olympic and world champions to win 9-11, 11-3, 11-4, 3-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8.

Niu and Guo, winners at four Pro Tour events this season, jumped to 7-4 but let their teammates to close to one point at 9-8.Zhang's backhand topspin out and Wang's miss on a counter-attack gifted Niu and Guo the match.

Ma Lin and Chen Qi won the men's doubles on Saturday.

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