"Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises." As Helena observes in Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well," unrealistic expectations can be a real pain in the... (ahem) heart. Fortunately for a favored foursome in Germany, the laudatory laurels laid upon them have proven to be duly merited. The occasion is the Düsseldorf Masters, a locals-only tournament series for a handful of elite German table tennis league players. In the cautious, gradual resumption of competition in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer-long series of weekly tournaments represents the first real action in months. In week one, longtime German ace Timo Boll took the title. Last week, in Boll's absence due to previous commitments, the title was claimed by his countryman Dimitrij Ovtcharov (pictured). Now, in week three, Ovtcharov is again the top seed. Kanak Jha of the United States, at 19 already a veteran of German leagues, is seeded second. Omar Assar of Egypt and Germany's Qiu Dang round out the top four. Ovtcharov and Jha were awarded byes to the quarterfinals. As the field of 12 was whittled down to the elite eight, only one player contradicted the prescribed order by staging an upset: unseeded Gerrit Engemann knocked off his German compatriot Nils Hohmeier, the eighth seed. "It has never been so clear against Nils," said the victorious Engemann, ranked #291 in the world. "I have always had close matches against him. I think it was the tactics, I also tried a little bit in training how to get into the game better with my serve and that worked well against him." The fearless Engemann was looking to stage a much bigger upset against world #27 Kanak Jha. The reigning four-time US men's singles champion, however, finally dispensed with the pesky Engemann, (14-12, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 13-11). "It was a very close match," said a relieved Jha. "I think every game was fought until the end. I hope that I will play better tomorrow than I did today." Jha will need to play better against world #38 Omar Assar if he hopes to get past the semis. Dimitrij Ovtcharov, on the other hand, faced little resistance from his countryman Tobias Hippler, prevailing (11-7, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8). "Hippi [Hippler] kept up with to the middle of each game," recounted Ovtcharov. "In the end I still put a shovel on it. I actually felt good but against Hippi it is always difficult to develop a rhythm. I’m happy with my game." Ovtcharov, the world's 11th-ranked player, now faces another German teammate in the form of Qiu Dang, world #52. If both he and Jha continue to justify their top seeding, they will clash in the finals Wednesday. After one more day of battle, one warrior will emerge victorious. Next week, they will do it all again, vying for points to qualify for the culminating tournament in August. Only then can one worthy competitor truly say, all's well that ends well.

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