Outstanding in the opening round of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC GROUP 2012 World Tour Slovenian Open in Velenje on Friday 27th January; Canada’s Eugene Wang, Germany’s Patrick Franziska and Croatia’s Roko Tosic continued their fine form later on the same day to book third round places.

In the opening round, Eugene Wang had beaten Singapore’s Gao Ning, no.7 seed, Patrick Franziska had overcome Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia, the no.16 seed, and Roko Tosic had defeated Patrick Franziska’s compatriot, Bastian Steger, the no.8 seed.

Boosted by the successes, cofidence blossomed.

Caused More Heartache
In round two Eugene Wang caused Singapore more heartache; he beat Yang Zi, the no.18 seed in seven games (5-11, 11-4, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5), with Patrick Franziska and Roko Tosic soon following suit.

Patrick Franziska beat compatriot and fellow qualifier Ruwen Filus in six games (11-9, 11-7, 11-4, 12-14, 9-11, 12-10), whilst Roko Tosic ended the hopes of Russia’s Igor Rubtsov, in a nerve tingling seven games duel (11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 12-14, 11-9).

One More
Three qualifiers through to the third round and there was one more.

Italy’s Mihai Bobocica, who had been beaten by Korea’s Kim Min Seok in the opening round but then had been reinstated following the Korean’s racket failing the after match test, made the most of the opportunity presented.

He beat Sweden’s Robert Svensson in four straight games (14-12, 11-4, 13-11, 11-7).

Long Hard Day
“Today has been very hard and long”, reflected Patrick Franziska. “I beat Tiago Apolonia four-three and against Ruwen Filus I was leading by three games to nil and 9-5 but I couldn’t finish the match; I made some easy mistakes, he started to play better, he gained confidence and my arm ached, I was getting very tired, in the end I was somewhat lucky.”

Success for Patrick Franziska who did not enjoy the best of fortunes in 2011.

Withdrew in Brazil
Notably at the Brazil Open in June, seeded no.1 in the Under 21 Men’s Singles event he reached the final but had to withdraw; thus presenting the title to Singapore’s Chen Feng.

“Now I am fine, I was injured for six months and for two months I could not practise”, added Patrick Franziska. “Are my legs strong enough? Yes, now I will have a massage and do my best tomorrow.”

Delighted Croatian
Equally Roko Tosic was delighted.

“It was a great day today, I beat Bastian Steger and then Igor Rubtsov; it was hard, it’s the first time I´ve ever beaten Bastian Steger, I’ve lost to him four times”, said a delighted Croatian. “I didn't really believe that I could win; the match against Igor Rubtsov was even harder; after the match I was totally exhausted; if we had played another game I would have collapsed!”

Lucky Day
A highly satisfied Croatian and there was a grateful Italian in the guise of Mihai Bobocica.

“Actually, this was the luckiest day of my whole career, I lost the first match against Kim Min Seok but then he was disqualified for a racket irregularity”, said Mihai Bobocica. “In the second match, I also had a lot of luck, really I had a lot of luck today but I feel I am playing well and it was close against Kim Min Seok.”

Followed World Ranking
Meanwhile in the remaining second round matches, matters went as per world ranking with names to note succeeding.

In the top half of the draw China’s Ma Long, the no.1 seed, beat Spain´s He Zhiwen, the no.24 seed (15-13, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10) and now faces the host nation’s Bojan Tokic, the no.11 seed. He ousted Slovakia’s Thomas Keinath, the no.26 seed, in their second round encounter (11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-3).

Nothing to Loose
“I don’t have anything to lose against the best player in the world, he is winning all the tournaments like a joke, I will prepare and tomorrow show what I am capable of; today I didn’t play so well but tomorrow is a different story”, said an upbeat Bojan Tokic. “I will be relaxed and I hope that the game will be interesting like last year at the World Championships in Rotterdam; I have watched the match a hundred times on You Tube!”

Success in Top Half of Draw
Success for Bojan Tokic in the top half of the Men’s Singles draw and also for the leading names; China’s Ma Lin, the no.5 seed beat Russia’s Alexander Shibaev, the no.20 seed (9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-4, 12-10); whilst colleague, Wang Hao, the no.3 seed, ended the hopes of Hong Kong’s Jiang Tianyi, the no.17 seed (11-5, 11-8, 13-15, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6).

Star Names Prevail
Wins for star names in the top half of the draw and that was also the case in the lower half.
China’s Zhang Jike, the no.2 seed, overcame qualifier, Simon Gauzy of France (11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7), colleague Xu Xin, the no.4 seed, defeated Turkish qualifier Li Ahmet (11-3, 11-6, 11-6, 13-11) and Korea’s Joo Se Hyk, the no.6 seed, ended the aspirations of Spain’s Carlos Machado, the no.30 seed (9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7).

Booked Third Round Places
Also successfully through to the third round came Croatia’s Tan Ranwui, Germany’s Patrick Baum, China’s Yan An in addition to the Korean duo of Seo Hyun Deok and Lee Jung Woo.

Source: http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=26744&Competition_ID=2107&

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