WTT Champions Doha 2026 Jan 7-11

[NextLevel]

Good match. Very little separated the players. Goku won though.

We still haven't seen Felix vs Sora on WTT if memory serves me right. That might be the one regret for me from this result though I am assuming Sora will beat Lin.

 

[zeio]

MS QF
F. Lebrun (5) 2-4 Harimoto (3) (5, -4, -5, 4, -9, -9)
Both are going through technical changes, where it's due to physical factors for the former, and philosophical factors for the latter. Painful times for both here.

 

[M51]

Felix needs to learn to overcome frustration. Reset his brain back to factory settings after a series of frustrating events.

 

[zeio]

You make it sound like chances are given not earned.

You make it sound like Hashimoto, Sato and Shibata left Miki House on a whim. Same for Kihara leaving Kinoshita.

 

[Sali]

Good match. Very little separated the players. Goku won though.

We still haven't seen Felix vs Sora on WTT if memory serves me right. That might be the one regret for me from this result though I am assuming Sora will beat Lin.

I do not remember when last time Sora beat Lin. IMO Sora could beat anyone but not Lin.

 

[M51]

Missed the Truls - Jang Woojin match, watching it now.

Something definitely seems off with these balls, players don't normally misread the bounce this much.

 

[NextLevel]

You make it sound like Hashimoto, Sato and Shibata left Miki House on a whim. Same for Kihara leaving Kinoshita.

Okay. Let me know when you have something that shows that the people playing for Japan didn't merit their positions by and not some inside baseball that Tieba experts read tea leaves to understand. Miwa Harimoto is the top Japanese player and the Miyu2 had the same opportunities to win that she did.

 

[NextLevel]

I do not remember when last time Sora beat Lin. IMO Sora could beat anyone but not Lin.

Good point but sora has made progress the last 3 months. But I guess the first time is always the hardest.

 

[M51]

Sora is an 18 year-old kid, whether or not he's beaten someone before is almost irrelevant.

 

[zeio]

WS QF
Harimoto (5) 3-4 CXT (3) (9, 11, -3, -10, -9, -15)
G4 69 TO for CXT, 99, 910, 1010, 1012
Another confirmation of CXT's tendency to play safe. 李大成/Li Dacheng told CXT during the TO to up the shot quality and kill the point when there's an opening and send a kick serve to Harimoto's BH.
G5 97, 911
After G5, the last 2 things Li Dacheng reminded CXT was change of pace and dare to serve.
G6 61, 910, 1614
G7 34, 74, 76, 96, 98 epic save of Harimoto's 3rd ball by CXT, 108, 1010, 1110, 1112, 1212, 1213, 1313, 1314, 1514, 1517

85 to 77 points, 1h35m

 

[JackJohnson]

It’s getting tight

 

[dewnyc]

going back and forth between Miwa and CXT. so many match points saved

 

[NextLevel]

Chen Xingtong is definitely a kind of Liang Jingkun lol...

 

[dewnyc]

finally over. CXT wins 17-15

 

[driversbeat]

Is it just me or did whoever topspin first lose the point?

 

[dewnyc]

The match took 1 hr 35 min. Is that the longest-ever women's match (post-expedite rule)?
Ni Xia Lian and Honoka Hashimoto played a match in 2017 that was 1 hr 32 min long.

 

[zeio]

Yea, all-ethnic-Chinese SF for WS!

 

[NextLevel]

I didn't wish Chen won quickly today... see our reward...

 

[dewnyc]

Sora vs LYJ starts more than an hour later than scheduled (8:45 PM in Doha, it is 9:50 PM now)

 

[zeio]

Is it just me or did whoever topspin first lose the point?

And whoever wants to kill the point. Harimoto tried various means and still came up short on multiple match points due to spin quality. Will probably take another year or two.

Another way to lure misses is probably the slower timing of European players. Got her many points but she didn't try on match points.