Sheer disbelief from Bernadette Szocs, who stuns the No.1 seed in Montpellier. (Photo WTT)
There was drama right from the start of the WTT Champions Montpellier with Bernadette Szocs completing a stunning upset 11-7, 12-10, 11-2 win over top seed Chen Xingtong in the event opener.
Chen Xingtong, who picked up her first WTT Champions title a couple of months back in Yokohama, was not just the red-hot favourite to come through this match, but was considered the player to beat in the race for women’s singles glory here in Montpellier.
However, it was clear early on that Xingtong wasn’t going to have it all her way as Szocs flew out of the starting blocks, dictating the pace of play in the opening game to put her top-seeded opponent on the backfoot.
Determined to make her fast start count, Szocs continued to apply pressure in game two, sticking with Xingtong all the way to 7-7 before kicking on from there, pulling 8-7 ahead to prompt the time-out call from the Chinese star. Xingtong was hoping that short break in play would be enough to dent the flow of momentum, but to no avail, as Szocs returned with just as much intensity as before, keeping her foot on the gas to take the second 12-10.
Having lost out to Xingtong 3-0 back at Singapore Smash 2025 earlier this season, Xingtong now had the opportunity to completely reverse that scoreline in Montpellier, and she came up with the goods, ripping a ferocious topspin deep into Xingtong ’s backhand corner to close out game three in style.
Falling to her knees in disbelief, Szocs had just knocked out the No.1 seed. Offering a heart sign to the crowd in appreciation of their support, Bernie could hardly contain her excitement, returning to her coaching corner with a beaming smile all over her face.
Collecting her thoughts after a dramatic win on Tuesday afternoon, Bernie said in her post-match interview that she always believed she was in with a serious shout of causing the upset, and she couldn’t be happier, putting some of her recent frustrations behind her with by far her best performance of the season.
“Last night I watched my previous matches against her, because this isn’t the first time that I’ve beaten her. I believed in myself that I could do it again, so I’m very happy to do. I’m very proud of myself because recently I haven’t played as well as I wanted, but now I’m back and I’m very happy.
This gives me a lot of confidence for the future again. I am in Montpellier where I love to be. I am very happy to come back here because last year I played well. Of course I would have liked to win more matches here last year, but this time I believe I can do it. I just beat the No.1 seed, so I’m very confident and looking to the next match,” said Szocs.
Spectators at Sud de France ARENA have witnessed another huge twist in the women’s singles title race with No.7 seed Mima Ito suffering an early exit at the hands of Elizabeta Samara. bowing out 9-11, 11-5, 11-3, 9-11, 9-11.
Before the fans had an opportunity to catch their breath after the exit of Xingtong and Samara had them back on the edge of their seats. Having lost out to Ito in both of their previous encounters, it naturally came as a surprise to see Samara overturn a 3-6 deficit to steal game one.
Hitting back with a strong response, it looked as though Ito had done enough to correct course, taking games two and three to establish the front foot. But Samara, the experienced pro that she is, didn’t lose heart, showing extraordinary calm in the face of pressure as she flipped a 4-9 deficit in the fourth to force an unlikely decider.
Even after all that, the odds were still significantly in Ito’s favour, and she continued to showcase high calibre table tennis in the final game, opening up a commanding 3-8 lead.
Moving things along to 6-9, the Japanese superstar needed just two more points to bag the victory, but there was still a late twist to come as Samara pulled the reverse card, chalking up five points on the bounce to bring home an unforgettable win in Montpellier.
“Taking that first game, that’s when I started thinking I could beat her, but she destroyed me in the next two games. I was a little lucky in the end, at 2-2 (7-9) I got the edge and then at 9-9 I had more luck, a net ball or something, but this is part of the game. I’m really happy with my performance. It’s amazing, I never thought I could beat her,” said Samara.
While Ito’s defeat was hard to take from a Japanese perspective, there was better news for her compatriot Honoka Hashimoto, recovered from an early setback to deny Yangzi Liu 9-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8.
There was also an encouraging Japanese result over in the Men’s Singles draw, with Hiroto Shinozuka besting Omar Assar in four 6-11, 11-2, 16-14, 11-7.
The day also saw Darko Jorgic and Jang Woojin come away with a win to their names, moving past Tomislav Pucar 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 and Chen Yuanyu 12-10, 3-11, 11-4, 11-9 respectively.
The day’s action was packed with more entertainment, with no match more gripping than Flavien Coton’s showdown with Lin Yun-Ju, a brawl that saw the latter player squeeze over the line 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4.
Yun-Ju and Coton met for the second time in just three days, with the Chinese Taipei star defeating the French prodigy in straight games at WTT Star Contender London 2025.
However, with enormous backing from the French crowd on Tuesday night, Coton looked a different beast, going toe-to-toe with the ‘Silent Assassin’, and even looking the more likely winner three games in.
On a day of dramatic upsets, Montpellier held its breath as Coton drew ever closer to the finish line. At 7-9 up in game four, just two points separated the 17-year-old ace from a magical victory under the lights at Sud de France Arena.
However, Yun-Ju would turn the tide, leaning on his experience to navigate his way to a decider, and he never looked back from there.
A brave display from start to finish, Coton’s loss hit the Montpellier faithful hard. Step forward local hero Felix Lebrun, who made it his personal mission to get Montpellier rocking again.
Greeted with enormous cheers, the defending men’s singles champion couldn’t have asked for a better start to the week, clearing his opening round opponent Jonathan Groth in straight games 11-7, 11-8, 11-7.
“It’s always the strategy to try and come out fast and not let the opponent into the match, but it’s always tough because he also wants to beat me. I’m very happy about my match, I think I managed very well what I prepared with the team, so I’m really happy and I’m enjoying it back here in Montpellier, I feel good here. Let’s see how the event plays out, but I’m happy about my level and how I played during the match,” said Lebrun.
