Macau, China, 15 Dec – China’s tennis players took a sweep of the single event in the 2008 ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals here on Sunday.
Ma Long won his first gold after beating teammate Wang Hao 4-0 in men’s final while Guo Yan defeated Guo Yue 4-2 to claim the women’s title in the all-Chinese finals.
Ma won 13-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5. The 20-year-old eliminated China’s top paddlers Wang Liqin and Olympic champion Ma Lin to enter the finals.
He launched a strong challenge to another Chinese top player Wang Hao in the final and claim the victory in less than an hour.
“I can’t say I have already stronger than those teammates, although I won them here,” said Ma to Xinhua. “They didn’t have a good training after Beijing Olympics but I did. They are strong and I am still a young player.”
“The title is a boost for me, especially when I will take part in the world championships next year in Japan,” added Ma.
In women’s finals, Guo Yan defeated Guo Yue 4-2 to get her first title in the year. Dropping two sets, Guo Yan managed to extend her winning stream after fending off ferocious charges of veteran Guo Yue 13-11,9-11,15-13,11-5,12-14,11-8.
She won Singapore’s Wang Yuegu in the semifinals to book the place in the final early on Sunday.
(MacauNews)
