Top seeds narrowly escape upsets in WTT Contender Muscat 2023 round of 16 matches

Posted : 13 October 2023

On the second day of main draw action at WTT Contender Muscat 2023, the top-seeded players in both the men's and women's singles events narrowly escaped potential round of 16 upsets.

Tomokazu Harimoto, the top seed in the Men's Singles draw, faced a formidable challenge in his round of 16 match against fellow Japanese player Hiroto Shinozuka. This was their first meeting on the world stage, and Harimoto struggled to maintain control.

Harimoto had a chance to secure victory with a 10-9 lead in the fourth game, but he couldn't capitalize on the opportunity. Shinozuka fought back, pushing the match to a fifth and deciding game. In a tense decider that saw 19 exhilarating points, Harimoto once again found himself with a 10-9 lead.

Shinozuka, however, managed to save match point for the second time. But this time, Harimoto regained his composure and secured victory in a nervy encounter (11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10).

Meanwhile, the second seed, Hugo Calderano, staged a remarkable comeback in his round of 16 match against Jules Rolland. Despite being down two games, Calderano managed to turn the tide, ultimately defeating the World No. 91 (5-11, 11-13, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8). In another notable match, Liam Pitchford outperformed the third seed, Lin Yun-Ju, in four games (11-6, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9).

In the Women's Singles, top seed Hina Hayata faced a tough second-round match following her straight games win on Day 1. Her opponent, Yang Ha Eun, had a 1:1 head-to-head record against Hayata, and she made a strong start in the match.

Despite being the higher-ranked player by 59 positions in the ITTF Table Tennis World Rankings, Hayata had to work hard for the victory. She managed to turn the match around with back-to-back wins in games two and three but faced a formidable challenge in the fourth game, which extended the match to a decider.

In the final game, Yang had the upset in her sights, holding a 2-6 lead and earning two match point opportunities at 8-10. However, Hayata showed remarkable composure under pressure, salvaging victory from the brink of defeat (5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-13, 12-10).

The most significant comeback of the day in the Women's Singles came from Chen Szu-Yu, who fought back from being two games and match point down to defeat the fourth seed, Jia Nan Yuan (8-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-5, 11-6).

Top seeds narrowly escape upsets in WTT Contender Muscat 2023 round of 16 matches

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