Sports fans are gearing up for an electrifying weekend of world-class table tennis action in Jeddah with a series of Saudi Smash quarter-final showdowns locked in for Thursday after some exceptional matches on a drama-filled Day 5.
Organised by the Saudi Table Tennis Federation (STTF) and World Table Tennis (WTT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Sport, Saudi Smash is the newest WTT Grand Smash event and one of three major WTT Series tournaments.
With the latter stages of this pinnacle-status competition within touching distance, Wednesday witnessed some gripping last 16 Singles contests on a Wednesday where the first Saudi Smash 2024 finalists were also confirmed following the Mixed Doubles semi-finals.
Germany’s Patrick Franziska stole the show at King Abdullah Sports City – mounting a sensational comeback against the strongly fancied Fan Zhendong in the Men’s Singles. Down 2-0 and staring defeat in the face following a relentless start from the Chinese second seed in Game 3, the German world number 16 stunned his opponent to level the match 2-2.
A back-and-forth battle then commenced in the fifth and final game. With Zhendong 9-10 up and one shot from victory, Franziska reeled off three successive points to take the last 12-10 and seal a first win over his opponent in five years.
Commenting on his performance in one of the best matches of the tournament, Franziska said: “It feels pretty amazing to get through. Fan crushed me the last time we played and I didn’t have much chance against him. He was well-prepared heading into today and was very powerful in the first two sets – his forehand was destroying me. But in the end, I played more aggressively and kept going. That’s the thing against the top Chinese players; you always have to believe, keep fighting, and take your chance when it comes.”
Audiences were treated to 26 matches on Day 5 across all sub-events as world number 1 Wang Chuqin remained on course for back-to-back Grand Smash titles by booking his place in the Men’s Singles quarter-finals. Competition for the Men’s Singles championship is sure to be intense with French fifth seed Felix Lebron and Germany’s Dang Qiu (#10) amongst those in flying form.
Some epic encounters are also assured in Women’s Singles latter stages with six of the world’s top 10 players featuring in Thursday’s Day 6 quarter-finals. Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, and Chen Meng of China are all dreaming of Grand Smash glory in Saudi Arabia with Japan’s Hina Hayata, Miwa Harimoto, and Mima Ito also in contention.
World number 10 Ito reached the quarter-finals after her showdown with fellow Japanese star and 23rd seed Miyuu Kihara. Speaking after the most eagerly anticipated last 16 match in the Women’s Singles, Ito revealed: “I’ve been playing with Miyuu for years although it’s been a long time since we played against each other. We were both nervous out there because it was a big match and we know one another so well. For me, my decision-making at key moments led to winning points. It was a hard match, but I was able to calm myself down and make it through. I’m looking forward to the next round and I believe I’m getting stronger and stronger.”
India’s Manika Batra also continued her sensational Saudi Smash run on Wednesday. Having knocked out the women’s world number 2 and reigning Singapore Smash champion on Monday, she continued her blistering form with a 3-0 win against German 14th seed Nina Mittelham to reach the last eight.
Batra – who had never won a WTT Grand Smash match until Saudi Smash – told reporters: “I’m really proud that I played my best after beating Wang Manyu in the previous round. That match was really important for me and I was so elated afterwards that I really had to ground myself and regain full focus. The experience I’ve built so far in this tournament allowed me to produce once again today. Everything is going so well – I love this country and I’m so grateful for the support I’ve received.”
Elsewhere on Day 6, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha sealed their place in the Mixed Doubles final with a 3-0 win against Japanese duo Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata. They face the duo from Hong Kong, China of Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in Thursday’s final – the first of five finals across the weekend schedule.
Commenting on their win against one of the pre-tournament favourites, Wang Chuqin said: “Sun and I expected to face some tough challenges because Tomokazu and Hina are amongst the top two or three mixed doubles pairs in the world. They are familiar opponents and it goes without saying that they are strong players – individually and collectively. Although the score was 3-0, every game was intense; we just handled the critical moments out there very well and managed to win. Being in tomorrow’s final is a great feeling for us and we’re looking forward to it.”
Alongside the Mixed Doubles final and Men’s and Women’s Singles quarter-finals, Thursday’s line-up also includes semi-final action with four matches across the Men’s and Women’s Doubles competitions.
Ticket to Saudi Smash are on sale at SaudiSmash.com/Visitor.
For the complete player list, visit SaudiSmash.com/Players
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