Sunday, April 20, 2008
10:19 PM
ITTF Pro Tour Brazil Open - Li Jia Wei Repeats Asian Cup Performances to Beat Yuka Ishigaki
Singapore’s Li Jia Wei beat Japan’s Yuka Ishigaki in four straight games to reach the final of the Women’s Singles event at the Brazil Open in Belo Horizonte on Sunday 20th April 2008.

Quite simply she knew how to play a defender.

Reversed rubber on the backhand, short pimples on the forehand, Li Jia Wei was the model of consistency; she made very few errors to success 11-6, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9.

It was the third time in a world ranking event that the pair had met and the result was the same as the duels that had gone before.It was victory for the attacker.

Previous Meetings
The two previous meeting had been in November 2007 at Hanoi Television Asian Cup tournament in Vietnam when they had met in both the first and second stage of proceedings.In the first stage Li Jia Wei won in straight games, in the play-off matches for positions five to eight she succeeded in four straight games.

Two Further Casualties
The first two games saw Li Jia Wei totally dominant; Li Jia Wei was relentless, the Japanese defender was left clutching at straws and never seriously threatened the number two seed.

Third Game
However, in the third game the two were level at 3-all, Li Jia Wei then established a 9-5 lead; the next two points went to Yuka Ishigaki, Singapore coach Liu Guodong called “Time Out”.

It was a crisis of quite miniscule proportions.

Long points ensued, with Li Jia Wei moving ahead 10-8 to secure game point; the opportunity was present. Yuka Ishigaki made an unforced error and Li Jia Wei was one game away from the final.Place ReservedLi Jia Wei continued to be the model of consistency, she was confident, Yuka Ishigaki fought but when it counted Li Jia Wei held the aces and a place in the final was secured.

Stepping Stone
It was for Yuka Ishigaki defeat but great credit and a major stepping stone in her career; a place in the semi-finals for the eighteen year old qualifier was a fine effort.

(Source: ITTF Website - www.ittf.com)




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