A brilliant first game from Hugo Calderano. (Photo WTT)
Hugo Calderano is one step closer to silverware, defeating World No.12 Dang Qiu in their Round of 16 showdown 11-3, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9 at WTT Champions Macao 2025.
The Thrill from Brazil caught Qiu completely off guard in the first game, winning with an 11-3 tagline, while Calderano saved a game point at 9-10 to claim the second game in deuce.
Qiu would rebound, however, stealing four consecutive points to take the third game, the German showing signs of a potential comeback on Infinity Arena.
As play progressed in the fourth, though, it looked like the end of the line for Qiu, as Calderano led 10-6 in points. But the Penhold specialist forced his way back to 10-9, saving three match points to fill Macao East Asian Games Dome with excitement.
However, Calderano held his nerve, winning the final point and securing a ticket to the quarterfinals, where he will meet Qiu’s compatriot Patrick Franziska in an unmissable brawl!
Also marching on is Korean player Jang Woojin, who took down Xue Fei in three straight games 11-7, 11-7, 12-10).
Elsewhere, Kuai Man booked her spot in the Women’s Singles quarterfinals, producing a powerful display against Japanese ace Mima Ito (11-5, 10-12, 11-6, 11-4).
This is now Kuai’s second victory over Ito in Macao this year, the latter also losing out to the Chinese star in the semifinals of ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup Macao 2025.
“We played twice in the first half of the year and have become quite familiar with each other. Our last encounter was also in Macao. I came into today’s match well prepared, bringing the lessons I learnt from our previous meeting, where I had been trailing most of the time. Today, I was able to execute most of what I had worked on.” Kuai Man
Fourth seed Kuai is set to duel with another Japanese sensation, Satsuki Odo, in what will be the former’s fourth WTT Champions quarterfinals of 2025!
World No.1 Sun Yingsha’s conquest will continue, as she overcame World No.16 Bernadette Szocs in four games 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9. The event favourite will encounter Adriana Diaz in the next stage, the latter defeating fifth seed Wang Yidi on Thursday evening.
