{"id":5697,"date":"2025-11-08T07:18:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T00:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=5697"},"modified":"2025-11-08T07:18:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T00:18:36","slug":"top-two-seeds-scalped-in-frankfurt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/top-two-seeds-scalped-in-frankfurt\/","title":{"rendered":"Top two seeds scalped in Frankfurt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Both the men&#8217;s singles top two seeds &#8211; Hugo Calderano and Tomokazu Harimoto &#8211; have crashed out of the WTT Champions Frankfurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Title favourite and top seed Calderano was shown the exit by Simon Gauzy in a gripping Round of 16 showdown, winning 11-4, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Calderano, who suffered a shock opening round exit last week in Montpellier, was looking to make amends in Frankfurt. As the top-seeded entry, he would have fancied his chances of locking up that elusive WTT Champions trophy in the German city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he was ultimately undone by Simon Gauzy, who came out fighting right from the off, tackling the top seed head on while dominating exchanges back away from the table. The pace of play was breathtaking as both players tried to outdo the other, but it was Gauzy who prevailed early on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not prepared to go down without a fight, Calderano responded in the third, and with four of the opening five points in game four also going his way, a decider looked imminent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Gauzy regrouped, getting down to business as he slowly clawed his way back. At 6-6, the Frenchman showed great athleticism to retrieve a forehand out wide, stabilising his balance to salvage the lead, and he wouldn\u2019t fall behind again, kicking the after burners into action to close out the match 11-9 in the fourth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I don\u2019t want to call it revenge because we are such good friends, but of course I want to win all the time. He\u2019s one of the best players in the world, so I knew it would be hard. I played well against him at China Smash 2025, but he was too good in that event. Today, I played really good tactically. Normally, when there are big rallies, I tend to beat most players, but against him he plays too strong so I wanted to avoid that, and that\u2019s exactly what I did and I\u2019m really happy to beat him after four or five losses in a row,&#8221; said Gauzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gauzy will play Lee Sang Su, who upstaged former Frankfurt champion Lin Yun-Ju in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hugo Calderano vs Simon Gauzy | MS R16 | #WTTFrankfurt 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/61fzl8SzfSI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>German star Dimitrij Ovtcharov sent shockwaves at the arena, as the 37-year-old toppled second seed Harimoto 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6 to storm into the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It comes as a monumental triumph for the former World No.1, whose surprise victory over seven-time WTT Series event winner Harimoto has landed him into first WTT Champions quarterfinals in two years, the German last reaching that hurdle back at\u00a0WTT Champions Frankfurt 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A match filled with intensity and explosivity, fans witnessed a spellbinding spectacle, sparking excitement across the globe as the two stars battled it out for a ticket to the next stage at this illustrious event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was home favourite Ovtcharov who got the ball rolling, pulling away from 7-7 to claim the opening game 11-8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The German would perform a similar feat in the second game, as he stole four points in a row to lead World No.4 Harimoto 9-4, a gap the latter could only close to 10-7, before Ovtcharov successfully launched a ripping backhand to take a 2-0 game advantage on home soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fans were in for a twist, however, as a now desperate Harimoto came out flying in the third game, leading 6-9. Dima would manage to grab a few more points, but it wouldn\u2019t be enough, as Harimoto stamped his name on the scoreboard with an 8-11 tagline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At 4-4, it seemed hard to predict who would take the all-important fourth game, but Ovtcharov, unwilling to let his opponent back into the running, blitzed ahead to a 10-5 lead, the World No.31 with five match points in his hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Harimoto saved one, but couldn\u2019t save another. Following a time-out call from Ovtcharov, the latter pounced on a loose serve, as he sent a relentless forehand topspin flying past his Japanese rival, to take a spectacular victory at S\u00fcwag Energie ARENA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the Frankfurt crowd applauded their home hero, the win puts Ovtcharov through to quarterfinals in style, taking down Harimoto for the first time since 2021, ending a run of five consecutive defeats at the hands of the Japanese player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I always get a little extra motivation and confidence when playing here, the spectators and behind you, and that really gave me a lot of hope after a few months of some tough defeats. I really felt from the beginning of the day that I had the opportunity to win, I felt it early in the match and I went all-in. I think with Tomokazu Harimoto, if you only play at 80% percent of your best, he will never miss and begin to dominate, so I knew I had to put a lot of pressure on him and I think I did really well with that today,&#8221; said Ovtcharov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dimitrij Ovtcharov vs Tomokazu Harimoto | MS R16 | #WTTFrankfurt 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GG_qREqauvs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Anton Kallberg\u2019s impressive run continued, as he knocked out yet another European powerhouse, World No.14 Alexis Lebrun 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having reached the men\u2019s singles Final last year in Frankfurt, Kallberg, who upset WTT Champions Montpellier 2025 title winner Truls Moregard. He is now just two wins away from matching his career-best WTT Champions finish on German soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frenchman Lebrun gave it his best shot, taking the first game and an early lead but Kallberg retaliated without mercy, the Swede showcasing spectacular play to claim three games on the trot, propelling himself one step closer to a trophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kallberg\u2019s next test comes in the form of recent WTT Star Contender London 2025 title winner Dang Qiu, the German vying for his first WTT Champions silverware in front of the home crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Sora Matsushima delivered a stellar performance to dispatch World No.23 Kanak Jha in three straight games 13-11, 11-5, 11-6, resulting in a quarterfinal spot for the Japanese player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kanak Jha vs Sora Matsushima | MS R16 | #WTTFrankfurt 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8GSeZIlCoPA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the women&#8217;s singles, top seed Miwa Harimoto finished her shift at the office with a Round of 16 victory over anti-spin specialist Sabine Winter, the former triumphing in four games 11-7, 11-9, 13-15, 11-7 to further her campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Facing the Japanese star in the quarterfinals is Hana Goda. The 17-year-old Egyptian star blazed through to her second WTT Champions quarterfinal, defeating Bruna Takahashi in a five-game roller coaster 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Making history as the first African player to reach a WTT Champions quarterfinal last year in Montpellier, Goda has now matched that stunning effort here in Frankfurt, proving that she&#8217;s more than a one-hit wonder. Keep your eyes fixed on her progress this weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also advancing to the next stage is fifth seed Shin Yubin, who took down wildcard Nina Mittelham without dropping a game 11-3, 13-11, 11-6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both the men&#8217;s singles top two seeds &#8211; Hugo Calderano and Tomokazu Harimoto &#8211; have crashed out of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-5697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-table-tennis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano.jpg",1000,660,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano-300x198.jpg",300,198,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano-768x507.jpg",640,423,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano.jpg",640,422,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano.jpg",1000,660,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano.jpg",1000,660,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/category\/newsbeat\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-Gauzy-defeats-Hugo-Calderano.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5709,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5697\/revisions\/5709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}