Spanish Open 2012: Going the Full Distance to the Finals

Full Distance was the theme of the 2012 ITTF Spanish Open semifinals. An on-form Vladimir Samsonov was out firing after having claimed victory over Gao Ning in 4 straight games in his quarterfinal. Lee Jung Woo was the star to watch though after taking a win over 2nd seed Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Both of the two semifinals progressed to the 7th and final sets before the victors were decided.

Chuang Chih-Yuan heads for Finals in Spain

Jun Mizutani looked to maintain his momentum as the top seed for the event, he took off to a 2-0 lead over Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih-Yuan. Chuang looked to have no way of breaking through his opponent in the first two sets. He found some balance in the next two sets which he won both 11-8 with reasonable comfort. Mizutani struck back to win the 5th set 11-6, asserting dominance and making a move to claim the match. It was not to be, Chuang repeated his form of his winning sets and took another two 11-8 sets to seal out the match 4-3. A disappointing result for Mizutani but positive for Chuang who will no doubt be looking for a good result after his tragic loss to Maharu Yoshimura in the semifinals at the recent Asian Cup.

For Samsonov, catchup was the word on the cards. Lee Jung Woo wasted no time in winning 3 of the first 4 sets to take a 3-1 lead. The classy young Korean showing no signs of slowing down. Samsonov stepped up his form to win the 5th and 6th sets and setup a 7th set showdown. The result went in the Korean's favour by an 11-6 margin. Lee Jung Woo will face Chuang Chih-Yuan for the title in the final. Promises to be an exciting match!

The women's semifinals were also 7 set matches. Yang Ha Eun of Korea came back from 3-0 down against the homeside's Spanish star Shen Yanfei, who had beaten Feng Tianwei earlier. The Korean fought hard to win the next 4 sets in a row and lock her place in the final. Kasumi Ishikawa suffered the same lengthy defeat to the enduring and amazing Kim Kyung Ah. The match was decided 12-10 in the 7th and Kim booked her finals spot. Stay tuned for the finals!

Great match for Samsonov against Gao Ning in Spanish Open Quarters