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China’s
Ma Long (L) and Guo Yan poses with the trophy after winning ITTF Pro Tour Grand
Finals Macau 2010
Player’s poses with the trophy take a group
photo
China’s MA Long and GUO Yan won the respective Men Singles and
Women Singles titles at the ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals in the Chinese Special
Administrative Region of Macao on Sunday 10th January 2010 and in so doing
created a moment of history.
It was the first time in the 14 year history of the competition that both the
Men Singles and Women Singles titles have been retained.
Furthermore, it was the first time the event had been staged in the same venue
in consecutive years; for MA Long and GUO Yan, Macao must now be a favourite destination.
MA Long was in devastating form beating colleagues ZHANG Jike and XU Xin on the
final day of action to clinch gold; in both contests MA Long won in six games
playing with greater confidence as the duels progressed.
Trailing by three games to two and in arrears at 9-10
in the sixth game, after a long rally, she executed a topspin
stroke that clipped both the net and the edge of the table, simply impossible
to return; then at 12-11, again she played a topspin that clipped the net and
left DING Ning stranded.
It is by such miniscule margins that results are determined and the fortune in
the sixth game was the first element of luck for the eventual champion; all
other nets and edges had gone in favour of DING Ning.
informaiton from ITTF
MA Long (CHN) beat XU Xin (CHN) 11-9, 7-11, 5-11, 11-3,
11-5, 11-2
GUO Yan (CHN) beat DING Ning (CHN) 3-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4,
2-11, 13-11, 11-9
relate photo
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