A thrilling week in Linz, Austria came to its inevitable conclusion today. Japan's 19-year-old Mima Ito, ranked seventh in the world, won the women's singles title at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Austrian Open in convincing fashion. Ito uses Nittaku Moristo SP on her backhand, a short pips rubber which she uses to neutralize the extreme topspin attacks she must endure as a top-ten player. In the semifinal, she dispensed with China's Qian Tianyi in straight games, the same player who in the preliminary round had sent the USA's Wu Yue packing. At the final stage, Ito was likely not surprised to face another player from China, this time in the form of world #4 Zhu Yuling. Undaunted, Ito stuck to her game plan, blocking Zhu around with her pips to set up her own forehand topspin attacks. After an easy first game for Ito, however, Zhu fought back to claim an epic second game, 18-16. While this would have unnerved most players, Ito responded to world-class pressure in world-class form, claiming the title with a (11-5, 16-18, 11-7, 13-11, 12-10) scoreline. Meanwhile, over in the men's singles, an inter-generational battle for the ages took place in the semifinals. There, 38-year-old German evergreen Timo Boll met 22-year-old Fan Zhendong of China. Fan was six years old (although likely already proficient in the basic strokes) when Boll last held the world #1 ranking. Fan has spent most of the last few years with the #1 ranking, a position he reclaimed last month with his win at the German Open. Looking for back to back wins, Fan faced his toughest resistance from the world #8 Boll. After Fan easily won the first game, Boll stormed back to take a 3-1 advantage. Fan, of course, is not one to succumb to the will of Boll's many German fans who made the trip to Linz. Two quick wins for Fan and the stage is set for a showdown. In a sequence that will likely cost Boll a few winks, he squanders three match points before Fan claims the deciding game, 14-12. Fan would go on to beat his compatriot Zhao Zihao, a qualifier enjoying his Cinderella moment, 4-0 to claim the title and cement his #1 ranking. Although Boll may lament his missed opportunity, the silver lining is that he needed a strong showing to qualify for the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. By reaching the semifinals, Boll secured the necessary points to punch his ticket to the season-culminating tournament this December in Zhengzhou, China. Fan Zhendong, of course, has already qualified. Will Boll get a chance to serve up a dish best served cold? Stay tuned!
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