"I've grown most not from victories, but setbacks," said no less an authority on racket sports than Serena Williams. "If winning is God's reward, then losing is how he teaches us." There were lessons aplenty to be found today at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Zhengzhou, China. By far the toughest was reserved for a supremely talented young man growing up before our very eyes. Japanese wunderkind Tomokazu Harimoto has long been recognized as the greatest threat to China's hegemony. At 16, the world #5 entered the season-culminating World Tour Grand Finals as the defending champion. After a routine 4-0 dismissal of Germany's Patrick Franziska in the opening round of 16, Harimoto found himself across the table from an all-too-familiar nemesis: Xu Xin, the Chinese penholder ranked #1 in the world. Head-to-head, Xu had won all six previous encounters with Harimoto. At 29, Xu has been at or near the top of the world rankings for the better part of a decade. First reaching the top spot in 2013, he regained the pole position this year after watching compatriots Ma Long and Fan Zhendong lead for a few laps. This was truly a match for the ages. After splitting the first four games, Harimoto claimed the pivotal fifth game by the minimum margin, 11-9. In the sixth game, Harimoto was poised to finally notch his first win against Xu, holding match point at 10-9. Unruffled, Xu calmly tied the game, then the match with a 13-11 win. Xu would again send the collective blood pressure of his Chinese fans skyrocketing when he found himself trailing 8-10 in the deciding seventh game. It is impossible to say who felt more pressure at that moment, but it was Harimoto who blinked first, yielding two more match points. Xu then claimed his first match point at 11-10, only to have his young challenger turn the tables and save a match point of his own. At 11-all, Harimoto let his serve drift long, allowing Xu to pounce for a forehand winner. Serving for his second match point, Xu did not disappoint, trading fire in a furious topspin fusillade until Harimoto missed a backhand into the net. Every competitor must learn to deal with losing. The future is assuredly bright for Harimoto, a once-in-a-generation talent who remains China's biggest worry. For today, however, Harimoto must take the brutally hard lessons to heart as he continues to fight for God's reward.

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