Wang Xiyu produced a memorable comeback, Hayato Matsuoka gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about, and the men’s doubles finalists were decided on an eventful fifth day of tennis at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
With play continuing outdoors at the Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Tennis Center on Thursday, 1 October, the competition moved closer to its medal matches. China secured both places in the women’s singles final, while players from four different nations advanced to the men’s singles semifinals.
The day’s standout contest came on Centre Court, where Wang recovered from a difficult start to beat the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala 3–6 6–3 6–2.
Eala raced into a 5–0 lead in the opening set, putting Wang under immediate pressure. Although the Chinese player won the next three games, Eala held on to take the set. Wang’s recovery, however, was already taking shape. She won the second set to level the match and carried that improvement into the decider, completing her comeback after two hours and 34 minutes.
For much of the opening set, it felt as though Wang was taking on both Eala and the Centre Court crowd. Cheers for the Filipina rang out from the stands, growing louder as she secured the set 6–3. Many fans were already hoping to see her in the final. But Wang held her nerve, gradually quietening the celebrations as she turned the match around to win.
For Eala, it was a disappointing finish after such a strong opening, but she leaves the women’s singles competition with a bronze medal. Wang now has the opportunity to turn her hard-earned semifinal win into gold.
Earlier, Zhang Shuai had booked her place in the final with a 6–4 6–2 victory over Kazakhstan’s Yuliya Putintseva. Zhang took the opening set in a competitive encounter before pulling clear in the second. Putintseva also finishes with bronze.
After Wang’s match, Zhang joined her on court, with the two finalists sharing smiles and a conversation. Their next meeting will have a different purpose: deciding who takes the women’s singles title in an all-China final.
Japan’s Hayato Matsuoka delivered another impressive comeback on Centre Court. The eighth seed defeated Kazakhstan’s second seed Aleksandr Shevchenko 3–6 6–2 6–0 to reach the men’s singles semifinals. After dropping the first set, Matsuoka took control and did not concede a game in the decider.
China’s Wu Yibing advanced with a 6–4 6–4 win over India’s Sumit Nagal on Show Court. Nagal stayed competitive in both sets, but Wu secured the victory to set up a semifinal against Matsuoka.
Top seed Coleman Wong of Hong Kong, China, defeated Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej 6–3 6–0. He will face Uzbekistan’s Khumoyun Sultanov, who overcame Chinese Taipei’s Tseng Chun-hsin 7–6(6) 6–2. Sultanov came through a close opening-set tiebreak before taking the second more comfortably.
Both men’s doubles semifinals were settled by match tiebreaks. Korea Republic’s Nam Jisung and Park Uisung edged Chinese Taipei’s Ho Chenjui and Hsu Yu-hsiou 7–6(3) 2–6 [11–9]. Japan’s Yusuke Kusuhara and Shunsuke Nakagawa defeated China’s Jiang Fumin and Zhang Tianhui 6–4 0–6 (10–6), ensuring that the hosts will feature in the gold-medal match. The Chinese Taipei and Chinese pairs finish with bronze medals.
Japan secured two mixed doubles semifinal places. Ena Shibahara and Jay Friend beat Kazakhstan’s Danilina and Shevchenko 6–3 7–5, while Shuko Aoyama and Kusuhara defeated Hong Kong, China’s Chong and Kairan Thompson 7–5, 6–2.
The late matches completed the mixed doubles lineup. Hsieh and Tseng defeated China’s Guo and Wu 6–2 6–4. China’s Jiang Xinyu and Zhang Tianhui then survived a long match tiebreak to beat Chinese Taipei’s Chan and Ho 6–3 2–6 (16–14).
Friday, 2 October, promises another important day. Japan will have the home crowd behind Yusuke Kusuhara and Shunsuke Nakagawa as they take on Korea Republic’s Nam Jisung and Park Uisung for men’s doubles gold. Wang Xiyu and Zhang Shuai will then meet in the all-China women’s singles final. The men’s singles semifinals offer two intriguing contests, with Coleman Wong facing Khumoyun Sultanov and Wu Yibing meeting Hayato Matsuoka. Places in the women’s and mixed doubles finals will also be decided, with Hsieh Su-wei, Anna Danilina and Ena Shibahara among those returning to court. With gold medals at stake and more finals places to be won, there is plenty for the Nagoya crowd to look forward to.
Comments are closed.