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Key Houston Rockets reserve swingman Gerald Green is believed to have suffered a broken left foot and is expected to miss an extended stretch, league sources confirmed.
Sources said that Green, who was injured during the Rockets' preseason win Thursday over the Toronto Raptors in Japan, will get more medical opinions on Monday to confirm the diagnosis and determine the best course of treatment.
The hope is that Green, who averaged 9.2 points off the bench, will not require surgery to repair his foot. If he needs surgery, Green will likely be sidelined for a few months.
Green's absence will deplete the Rockets' wing depth, which was already a concern.
The Athletic first reported that Green likely broke his foot.
Russia's Daniil Medvedev has won the Shanghai Masters, beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the final.
The world number four won 6-4 6-1 in 73 minutes for his first victory over the German in five attempts.
It is the 23-year-old's fourth title this year and his second consecutive ATP Masters 1000 win after victory in Cincinnati in August.
The US Open runner-up has played in more finals than anyone else on the Tour this season.
He has reached the final in his last six tournaments, winning three, and his win-loss record for 2019 stands at 59-17.
Since losing to Rafael Nadal in the US Open final last month, Medvedev has won each of the 18 sets he has played and victory in Shanghai follows his win at the St Petersburg Open.
"This one is amazing," Medvedev told ATP. "It's one of the most prestigious titles on the tour. I told myself to enjoy myself, I stay calm and do my job.
"I cannot believe it. It's amazing to reach six finals in a row. I hope I can keep going."
GB's Watson beaten by Peterson in Tianjin Open final
British number two Heather Watson lost the Tianjin Open final - her first WTA final for over three years - in straight sets to Rebecca Peterson.
Swedish world number 59 Peterson, 24, won 6-4 6-4 in China on Sunday to claim her second WTA title.
Watson, ranked 125th, broke early in both sets but was immediately pegged back both times, with Peterson winning in one hour 38 minutes.
The match was played indoors in the end after a five-hour rain delay.
Watson's form this week means the 27-year-old is guaranteed to climb back inside the world's top 100 when the new rankings are released.
It was the first time the Briton had lost WTA final, winning her previous three at Osaka in 2012, Hobart in 2015 and Monterrey in 2016.
After the match, Watson said: "I am so happy on court now and I am so enjoying my game again. I am looking forward to seeing what's to come."
Teenager Gauff becomes youngest WTA winner in 15 years
Teenager Coco Gauff has become the youngest player to win a WTA title in 15 years with victory in the Linz Open.
The 15-year-old American beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 1-6 6-2 and is projected to move inside the world's top 75.
Gauff only qualified for the main draw as a lucky loser after losing in the final round of qualifying.
"It has been an amazing week, I hope to come back here again. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life," said Atlanta-born Gauff.
The youngster, who rose to fame at Wimbledon this year when she beat five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round, emulates Nicole Vadisova, who was 15 when she won her maiden WTA title in Tashkent in 2004.
Gauff held off two break points in her opening service game before breaking Ostapenko in the next to take control of the opening set.
However, 22-year-old Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, hit back in the second set, breaking Gauff three times before levelling the match with an ace.
The teenager rallied in the decider though, breaking twice to lead 5-0. However, Ostapenko saved two match points and then broke Gauff to love to trail 5-2.
Her father and coach, Corey Gauff, then came onto court to give his daughter some encouragement. He said: "Just relax, you're not going to sprint to the finish line, you're going to walk to the finish line.
"Trust your shots. Calm down, take your mind to another place, to a practice match. Just play, don't think about negatives just think about positives. Yesterday if you know you had 5-2 you'd take that, you're in control."
She immediately broke back, winning the match and title when Ostapenko sent a forehand long.
"Thank you so much to my family and team for their support, you are always with me every step of the way," she said.
Final Day: 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open
Satisfactory result for Team China
Taking home four of the five trophies on offer in Bremen, it’s fair to say Team China have enjoyed another fine outing on the ITTF World Tour. Coach Ma Lin is satisfied with the performance overall but insists there is still room for improvement:
“I am quite satisfied with the results of the German Open. Our main task for Sweden as well as German Open was to check the younger generation of players for both techniques and mental abilities, in how far they are ready for important international tournaments. We also wanted to find out how well they can play under pressure from all sides. Apart from this tournament, the biggest challenge or our women’s team is Japan. Although we have already been able to prepare ourselves very well for this, we still found our gaps in this tournament. We still need to improve.” Ma Lin
Awards ceremony
Congratulations to the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open singles champions and runners-up.
Record spectator figures in Bremen
Mr. Michael Geiger, President of the Deutscher Tischtennis-Bund (German Table Tennis Association), has announced that a record number of spectators have turned up at the ÖVB-Arena:
“15,650 spectators in total, that’s an excellent visit. Table tennis is a real brand in Bremen.” Mr. Michael Geiger
The previous record for the German Open was also achieved in Bremen, in 2018. One year ago 13,200 people watched the tournament on all five match days. This is the eighth edition of German Open in Bremen.
Analysis proves vital
Having lost to Mima Ito only last week, Sun Yingsha reveals the secret to her success in Bremen came down to analysis:
“I thought I played very well today. The very first time I played against her, I won. That was at the World Championships in Budapest this spring. Half a year later at the Swedish Open I couldn’t beat her. Ito had developed a new strategy and greatly improved her technique. Then I analysed all her matches, developed the right tactics for her and was able to implement it in the final.” Sun Yingsha
Lead insurmountable, Sun Yingsha crowned champion
Mima Ito can’t find her way back into the match as Sun Yingsha cruises through game five (11-4) to lift the women’s singles trophy (11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4).
The young Chinese player has now won three singles titles on the 2019 ITTF World Tour having prevailed in Sapporo and Geelong a few months back and now holds a career total of four. Sun also gets her revenge following her semi-final defeat to Ito at last week’s 2019 Swedish Open in Stockholm.
Sun pulls two clear
There may have been little between the two finalists at the start of the match but Sun now finds herself two games ahead of her Japanese counterpart with games three and four both being decided by a clear six-point margin (11-5, 11-5). Sun needs just one more game to secure the title, but can Ito fight her back into the contest?
Nothing between them
In the battle of teenagers it is China’s Sun Yingsha who strikes first, displaying a wonderful array of winners to convincingly take the opener (11-3). However, Mima Ito responds straight away with a much better showing in game two (11-9), levelling the tie at 1-1.
“I am overjoyed to have won”
A return to title winning ways for Fan Zhendong, who is over the moon with his outing in Bremen:
“This is an absolutely important victory for me. I am overjoyed to have won against Xu Xin. Because we know each other so well it’s really hard for me to surprise him with anything. I never let up, always put pressure on him until the last rally. I had a lot of fun here, especially with this great crowd.” Fan Zhendong
The long wait comes to an end
Fan Zhendong is men’s singles champion!
And he’s done it! Fan Zhendong has recovered from a slow start to beat World no.1 Xu Xin to men’s singles gold in Bremen (5-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7, 11-7).
In game five Xu showed great spirit to save three championship points but at the fourth attempt Fan converted (11-7) to win his first singles title on the ITTF World Tour since the 2018 Swedish Open!
Fan turns it around
Fan has turned this match on its head: despite four game point opportunities saved by Xu , game three belongs to Fan (14-12). At 8-5 up in the following game Fan opts for a time-out and it proves to be the correct decision as the World no.2 drops just two further points (11-7) to claim a commanding 3-1 lead.
Can Xu find his way back into this one?
Immediate response
That’s better from the second seed, Fan is beginning to make use of that powerful forehand of his (11-8). Both players are producing fantastic attacking table tennis much to the crowd’s delight – all still to play for in this final.
Dominant start for World no.1
The in-form player of 2019, Xu Xin has made a confident start to the men’s singles final in Bremen winning the opening game by a six-point margin! (11-5). Fan Zhendong hasn’t really managed to find his footing as of yet – can he respond?
And Ito is in the finals!
It was not to be a fairy tale ending for Feng Tianwei, as Mima Ito eliminated the Singaporean veteran in straight games (11-8, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6). In a match of 33 minutes, Ito was simply too good for Feng and she made sure not to give her any opportunities to make a comeback.
Ito now faces a familiar foe in Sun Yingsha for the women’s gold later today.
Ito looks to be in a rush
Japan’s Mima Ito has taken a strong 2-0 lead over Singapore’s Feng Tianwei as the young prodigy looks to be in a rush to reach the finals.
But count Feng out of the match at your peril – she has made a habit of making comebacks when you least expect her to!
Fan makes a tremendous comeback!
The former World no.1 has shown his supreme class as he comes back to win the match from 2-3 down! Liang Jingkun threw everything at his compatriot, but Fan Zhendong managed to power through and get the result and a spot in the final by winning 4-3 (3-11, 11-8, 11-5, 4-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-4)!
“I think he was very active at the beginning while I in comparison to him was a little passive and slow. I think he has prepared himself much better than I did. In the second game the umpires have given him some warnings about his serves and I thought maybe I still could have chance then. I think we both have given our best to this match.” Fan Zhendong
Liang takes lead.. is it decisive?
The battle is on between the Chinese friends as Liang Jingkun has control of the match. With a 3-2 lead, will this be the point where Liang keeps out Fan for good?
Nothing to separate the two Chinese elite!
Liang Jingkun and Fan Zhendong are locked at 1-1 in the second semi-final of the morning. Both Chinese athletes are looking at their best, which means we might be in for a crunch match! Watch this space!
…and “Cloudwalks” into the final
It seems like Xu Xin took no prisoners with his Korean opponent, as the “Cloudwalker” makes it to another men’s singles final.
“I think I have played pretty okay in this match in total. Losing the second game has not affected me a lot. He played such a lot of high quality balls that he could have won the match. His performance was very good. For the final it makes no difference for me whether I play a teammate or a player from abroad. I have to relax. Only then an athlete can play at his top level.” Xu Xin
Winning 4-1 (11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6), Xu needed 48 minutes to take care of the immensely talented Jeoung but still made it look easy in his unique style. While Jeoung will feel hard done by, he can be proud of his lengthy campaign in Germany.
Xu in control
The World no.1 is in control at the three-game stage of this tense semi-final, as Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik has plenty of fight in him at the table.
Leading by 2-1, Xu Xin has shown signs of his immense quality just in time as Jeoung seems to begin hitting back. Who will blink first?
…and she makes her lead count!
Sun Yingsha has successfully reached the final of the women’s singles event here in Bremen, after seeing off the challenge of Wang Yidi in straight games (13-1, 11-1, 11-8, 11-2).
“We know each other very well, of course. She didn’t play badly at all. She was also good yesterday and came back after she had been behind. I prepared very well for today and I’m feeling good. Both against Feng Tianwei and against Mima Ito I hope to play well.” Sun Yingsha
In less than half an hour, the baby-faced Chinese athlete was superb in her attacking play and gave her opponent no chance to strike back. Can she carry this form and win another ITTF World Tour title? Let’s see.
Sun takes early lead
In the first semi-final of the day, the all-Chinese affair has started with Sun Yingsha establishing an early 2-0 lead over compatriot Wang Yidi.
The senior athlete in Wang saw a similar setup when she came back against Wang Manyu in the previous round. What does she have up her sleeve this time?
The Final four
Who will be Champion?
Once again Chinese excellence was on view
Men’s Singles
…………At the semi-final stage Xu Xin, the top seed beat Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik (11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6); Fan Zhendong, the no.2 seed, accounted for colleague Liang Jingkun, the no.7 seed (3-11, 11-8, 11-5, 4-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-4).
…………Fan Zhendong beat Xu Xin (5-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7, 11-7) to claim the title.
…………It was for Fan Zhendong his 12th ITTF World Tour men’s singles title but his first appearance in such a final since he won in November 2018 in Sweden.
…………Xu Xin has now appeared in a career total of 28 ITTF World Tour men’s singles finals; he has finished the runner up on 12 occasions
Women’s Singles
…………In the penultimate round Sun Yingsha, the no.3 seed, accounted for compatriot Wang Yidi (13-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-2); Japan’s Mima Ito, the no.4 seed ousted Feng Tianwei, the n.9 seed (11-8, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6).
…………At the final hurdle, Sun Yingsha overcame Mima Ito in five games (11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4) and thus avenged the semi-final defeat experienced the previous week in Stockholm.
…………Success for Sun Yingsha, her fourth career ITTF World Tour women’s singles title but her first when seeded. In 2017 when she won in Japan and earlier this year also in Japan and Australia, on those occasons she commenced play in the qualification tournament.
…………It was for Mima Ito her 11th appearance in an ITTF World Tour women’s singles final, the fifth time the runner up and the third occasion this year; she was the silver medallist in Hong Kong and last week in Sweden
Adding to earlier success, team gold follows individual success
In the men’s team events, Thomas Brüchle partnered Ireland’s Colin Judge to victory in class 3; Abdullah Ozturk joined forces with compatriots Ali Ozturk and Hamza Caliskan to emerge the class 4-5 champions.
Likewise, Niklas Westerberg combined with colleague Jonas Hansson to emerge the class 7 winners; a situation that applied also to Viktor Didukh in class 8; he joined forces with Maksym Nikolenko and Ivan Mai to secure the class 8 title.
Adding to success it was the same for Maliak Alieva who partnered compatriot Raisa Chebanika to gold in class 6-7, as it was for Victoriya Safonova in class 8, alongside Elena Litvinenko and Fatma Fattakhova. Meanwhile, not to be outdone, in class 9-10 Tian Shiau-Wen allied Ln Tzu-Yu to gain success
Surprise winners
All were wins as anticipated; in both the men’s team and women’s team events, the outfits commenced play as the top seeds.
However, there were surprise winners. In the women’s team competition, the combination of Israel’s Caroline Tabib and Great Britain’s Lucie Bouron won class 4-5; notably they commenced play the lowest rated pair in the event.
Similarly, in the men’s team event, class 9-10, Frenchmen Mateo Boheas and Gilles de la Bourdonnaye emerged unexpected victors; otherwise, as with those who claimed both individual and team titles it was success for the favourites.
Top seeds prevail
Impressively, in the women’s team events, Turkey’s Hatice Duman and Nergis Altintas secured the class 1-3 title; in the counterpart men’s team competitions it was the top prize in class 1-2 for the French pairing of Benoît Besset and Julien Michaud, a situation that applied also when Great Britain was involved.
Martin Perry joined forces with Marios Chatzikyriakos of Greece and Haris Eminovic from Bosnia-Herzegovina to secure the class 6 ttle; in class 9, Ashley Facey-Thompson and Josh Stacey combined to claim gold.
Play concluded in Lahti, next on the agenda is the INAS Global Games, play starts in Brisbane, Australia on Monday 14th October.
2019 ITTF Para Finland Open: latest results and draws
Wait finally over for Fan Zhendong
Fan Zhendong’s 343-day wait to win the men’s singles title on the ITTF World Tour came to an end on Sunday 13th October in Bremen, as the Chinese world no. 2 defeated compatriot and world no. 1 Xu Xin to claim German Open glory (5-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7, 11-7).
Astonishingly this was Fan’s first singles title on the 2019 World Tour, his last victory tracing back to 4th November 2018 at the Swedish Open. Over the intervening period, the 22-year-old lost his world no. 1 position to Xu, who went on to rubberstamp his supremacy by picking up three consecutive gold medals at this year’s Japan, Korea and Australian Opens.
It had looked like Fan’s barren streak would continue when “Xu-perman” comfortably won the first game of today’s final in Bremen and had his sights set on equalling the record of four ITTF World Tour men’s singles titles in a calendar year.
However, Fan fought back in style to take the title, the 12th of his career in the ITTF World Tour men’s singles competition, to raise hopes that he is finally ready to kick on and put a difficult 2019 behind him.
Sun sets on Ito’s hopes of glory
Sun Yingsha celebrated her third women’s singles title of an excellent year so far on the ITTF World Tour. The Chinese teenage talent overcame Japan’s Mima Ito over five emphatic games (11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4) to follow up her Japan and Australian Open victories with gold here in Germany.
Sun’s win confirms her status as the most successful performer from “Generation Z” during 2019, starting her campaign in Bremen second in the World Tour points standings, behind only world no. 1 Chen Meng (CHN). Sun has risen a remarkable 23 places in the last six months up to the no. 6 position.
The victory also means that fellow 18-year-old Mima Ito remains without a women’s singles title on this year’s ITTF World Tour. The world no. 7 and highest-ranked non-Chinese player in the women’s game, Ito was made to endure the heartbreak of a second final defeat in consecutive weeks, following her loss to Chen Meng last Sunday in Stockholm.
Chinese women’s 100% record ends
Korea Republic duo Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun became the first non-Chinese winners of a women’s event on this year’s ITTF World Tour, beating Japan’s Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki to claim the women’s doubles title (11-5, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7).
In the men’s doubles final, Xu Xin and Liang Jingkun defeated Germany’s Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang after the host nation’s unseeded pair took a shock lead and kept their highly fancied Chinese opponents on their toes throughout a highly competitive contest (11-13, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5).
Xu Xin also tasted mixed doubles success in his first ever partnership with Sun Yingsha. China’s two in-form athletes combined brilliantly in Bremen and saw off compatriots Wang Chuqin and Wang Manyu in the final (12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7).
Germans do host nation proud
Undoubtedly one of the surprise packages in Bremen, Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang navigated their journey from the depths of the qualifying rounds all the way to silver medals, following a series of impressive wins over seeded opponents: Ho Kwan Kit / Lam Siu Hang (HKG), Jang Woojin / Jeoung Youngsik (KOR) and Chen Chien-An / Chuang Chih-Yuan (TPE) before succumbing to the might of Xu Xin and Liang Jingkun (CHN) at the final hurdle.
While Duda and Qiu outperformed their seeded compatriots in the men’s doubles, Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska, the latter duo would make their mark in the singles competition, both advancing as far as the quarter-finals.
After his epic seven-game victory over Jun Mizutani (JPN), 38-year-old legend Boll fell to eventual champion Fan Zhendong, but his showing in Bremen will have done his chances of qualifying for the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals no harm at all. Meanwhile, Franziska caused one of the upsets of the tournament in defeating 3rd seed Lin Gaoyuan (CHN) in just five games before exiting at the hands of Jeoung Youngsik (KOR).
It was also a week to remember for Germany’s Shan Xiaona, the world no. 96 defying her ranking to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals, comfortably knocking out Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) and Hitomi Sato (JPN) before losing out to Feng Tianwei (SGP) when she had led 3-0 before Feng’s epic fightback.
Prior to that classic encounter, Singaporean star Feng grabbed the headlines with her straight games victory over world no. 1 Chen Meng – arguably the biggest shock result of the entire event.
Last stop: Linz!
The 12th and final destination of the 2019 ITTF World Tour will be the Austrian Open, held between 12th – 17th November in Linz.
This represents the last opportunity for players to gain all-important World Tour points and confirm their places for the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals: the prestigious end-of-year showpiece event being staged between 12th – 15th December in Zhengzhou, China.
German Open – Quick Links:
Peter Palos and Elena Prokofeva, the leading names in Brisbane
The INAS Global Games are the world’s biggest sports event for athletes with an intellectual impairment.
Notably in excess of 1,000 athletes are present for the gathering that meets every four years; six sports being on the agenda. Additional to table tennis, the schedule comprises athletics, swimming, rowing, basketball, futsal, tennis and cycling.
Intense competition is the order of the hour with prominent names from the para table tennis world being present.
Prominent names
In addition to Peter Palos, Frenchman Lucas Creange and Australia’s Samuel Von Einem appear on the men’s singles entry list.
Peter Palos was a gold medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Samuel Von Einem clinched silver three years ago in Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, at the recent European Para Championships in Helsingborg, Lucas Creange was a bronze medallist.
Likewise, in the women’s singles events; also named on the entry list is Hong Kong’s Ng Mui Wui alongside Russia’s Anzhelika Kosacheva, Japan’s Kanami Furukawa and colleague Maki Ito.
Significantly, Elena Prokofeva is the reigning European champion having won earlier this year in Helsingborg; in a similar vein, Ng Mui Wui claimed gold earlier this year in Taichung at the 2019 Asian Para Championships. Success, Kanami Furukawa was crowned Asian champion in 2017 in Beijing, Maki Ito was the runner up this year at the Asian Championships, losing to Ng Mui Wui in the final.
Overall, the INAS Global Games lasts one week; play commenced on Saturday 12th October and will conclude on Saturday 19th October.
Ireland to face All Blacks in last eight after Japan top Pool A
Ireland will play holders New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-final after Japan topped Pool A with victory over Scotland on Sunday.
The hosts will face South Africa after their 28-21 win over the Scots meant Joe Schmidt's men finished the group in second place.
The All Blacks, winners of the last two World Cups, finished top of their group.
Ireland's last eight match will take place in Tokyo next Saturday.
The game against Steve Hansen's side will be played at the Tokyo Stadium, starting at 11:15 BST.
Ireland secured their first win on home soil over the All Blacks last November when a superb chip-and-gather try by Ulster wing Jacob Stockdale helped them to a 16-9 win at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.
That added to their historic first win over New Zealand in Chicago two years earlier.
Hansen's men have lived up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites so far in Japan, topping their group with three wins including an impressive opening weekend victory over South Africa.
By the quarter-final, it will have been two weeks since the All Blacks' last game, as Typhoon Hagibis forced the cancellation of their final Pool B fixture against Italy.
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