The top four seeds reached the men’s singles semifinals at the ITTF-Americas Cup in San Francisco and wins by the top two seeds set up a final between world No. 3 Hugo Calderano and world No. 21 Kanak Jha.
Jha had a solid tournament, dropping only three matches as he defeated Brazil’s Guilherme Teodora, Puerto Rico’s Angel Naranjo and Canada’s Eugene Wang. Calderano was dominant from the start, a 4-0 win over Otalvaro, a 4-1 win over American Kumar and a 4-0 win over fourth-seeded Horacio Cifuentes.
Calderano and Jha have faced each other many times, and Calderano has won a large majority (between them Calderano has won 10 out of 12). However, they are 1-1 in their last two meetings, and Jha feels very comfortable at this venue (at a club he has played at many times, and in fact the venue where he won this event a year ago).
The final went as many expected. Great points. Solid play on both sides. Tight scores. However, Calderano was clearly the stronger player with more power and more variety – and the one who most often set the pace. Jha often seemed to respond – with brilliant blocks, heavy angles and careful placement. However, as the match progressed, the world number 3 put some distance between himself and Jha. The two split the first two matches, but it was Calderano who won the next three. Hugo Calderano wins 4-1.
A solid performance from both players. A solid event result from both players. And since finishing in the top four means automatic qualification for the World Cup – a great result for both.
Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest table tennis news and results.
Share the post “Calderano over Jha in Americas Cup final”
#Calderano #Jha #Americas #Cup #final