The 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals saw the best of the best gather in Zhengzhou, China for the prestigious season-ending championship. China's Chen Meng came to Zhengzhou with a hankering for turkey, having won the previous two World Tour Grand Finals. With a convincing 4-1 win over her teammate Wang Manyu, the world #1 Chen completed the feat, playing tic-tac-toe to go three in a row. This equals the record of teammate Liu Shiwen, both trailing all-time great Zhang Yining's all-time record by one. While Wang Manyu is certainly disappointed not to claim her first Grand Finals trophy, the 20-year-old may take heart that she is a year younger than Chen Meng when she reached her first final, also a fruitless foray. In the men's singles, a young phenom showed that his recent slip was merely a blip. Fan Zhendong, the world #2 from China who has spent most of the last two years ranked #1, will likely begin 2020 back on top after a masterful performance in the final. Fan defeated compatriot Ma Long 4-1, overpowering the reigning Olympic and world champion who himself had bested current world #1 Xu Xin in the semifinals. "It is never easy to play against Ma Long," Fan confided afterward. "He showed and played at a very high level yesterday. I just focused on myself and played very patiently. "As you know, I have experienced a lot of ups and downs this year," Fan continued. "I learned a lot of lessons from this period and I hope I can turn these lessons to my fortune." Speaking of fortunes, both Chen Meng and Fan Zhendong will pocket $100,000 USD for their efforts. The best of the best saved their best for last.

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