Two of China's top players met in the men's singles final of the 2019 ITTF German Open. One was a veteran who had been enjoying a renaissance of late; the other, an up-and-comer who seemed unstoppable a year ago, only to suddenly lose his golden touch. The veteran is Xu Xin, the left-handed penholder who first gained the world's #1 ranking in 2013. Known for entertaining crowds with his unbelievable away-from-the-table play, Xu's sometimes erratic strategy opened the door for more consistent players like Fan Zhendong to claim the top spot. Fan lost only three international matches in all of 2018 en route to the world #1 ranking. Since the Swedish Open in November 2018, however, Fan has struggled to regain his Midas touch. Fan, now 22, has gone almost a year without winning an ITTF World Tour Title. For a young man with a career 86% winning percentage, this is simply unacceptable. With Fan faltering, the 29-year-old Xu Xin has made the most of the opportunity. Also a career 86% winner, Xu has upped his 2019 batting average to .880, stepping into the power vacuum with three straight wins on the ITTF World Tour. Of course, when you play like that, the ITTF computers have no choice but to make you the world's #1 player. With this backdrop, both players joined their redoubtable team and headed to the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open. As the top two seeds, their collision was preordained. Each took care of business to secure his place in the final. There, in front of the German fans still smarting from the departures of local heroes Timo Boll, Patrick Franziska and Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the world's top two players prepared to battle. In the end, Fan Zhendong prevailed, (5-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7, 11-7). "This is an enormously important victory for me, said Fan after the win, his first in 343 days. "I am overjoyed to have won against Xu Xin. "Since we know each other so well it’s really hard for me to surprise him with anything," continued the resurgent champion. "I never let up, always put pressure on him until the last rally. I had a lot of fun here, especially with this great crowd." With both all-time greats still in their primes, who knows how many more titles will be decided in the furious rallies between Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong?

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