Top seed in the men’s singles race, Xu Xin of China will be looking to take home his first career German Open singles title, starting later today in the city of Magdeburg.
But first, the Chinese ace, who was the runners-up in the last two editions, would have to get past a potentially tricky second round match against Patrick Franziska of Germany.
Franziska famously took Xu Xin the full distance in one of the most memorable matches of at last year’s Australian Open semi-final.
The lower section of the draw contains a whole host of superstars including the Chinese duo of Ma Long, the reigning world champion and Fan Zhendong, the World Cup and World Tour Grand Finals champion. Both are expected to clash in a mouth-watering semi-final match-up.
There is also a possibility of an all-German quarter-final thriller between two of the country’s greatest players – Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Boll begins his journey against the only African player left in the men’s singles, Quadri Aruna of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old world number five Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan will be looking to continue his rise, just as fellow teenage prodigy, 18-year-old Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei.
In the women’s singles, two 19-year-old players who continue to take the sport by storm, Sun Yingsha of China and and Mima Ito of Japan are both former champions in Germany.
They lined up against one another in last year’s final with Yingsha emerging victorious. The dynamic duo, the most exciting women’s prospects, could be set to meet again in Magdeburg, this time at the semi-final hurdle.
Olympic champion Ding Ning would be hoping to change her fortunes at the Open, which happens to be one of the few events that she has yet make the podium.
On her path to glory at the World Tour Grand Finals last December, China’s Chen Meng showed great character to see off teammate and world champion Liu Shiwen. Now there could be an opportunity for Shiwen to avenge the defeat as both are drawn to meet in the semi-finals.
A finalist in 2015, the host nation’s very own Petrissa Solja will be up against Singapore’s Zeng Jian in the in the opening round and possibly against the fifth seeded Zhu Yuling of China in the next round.
The mixed doubles event also promises unmissable action from the get-go with World Tour Grand Finals silver medallists Jun Mizutani-Mima Ito of Japan taking on Lin Gaoyuan-Sun Yingsha of China in the opening round.
Second seeds Lin Yun-Ju-Cheng I-Ching could well meet the winner of that tie if all goes according to plan for the Chinese Taipei pair, but first they must centre their focus on Serbian qualifiers Aleksandar Karakasevic-Izabela Lupulesku.
Widely regarded as the partnership to beat in the mixed doubles game, Chinese top seeds Xu Xin-Liu Shiwen are the favourites to lift the trophy in Magdeburg, but one pair that has caused them to stumble in the past, Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting-Doo Hoi Kem are potential semi-final opponents.
Winners three years ago, Jeoung Youngsik-Lee Sangsu of Korea have been seeded first for the men’s doubles event and will open their account with a potential banana skin with the home crowd set to lend its support to Germany’s Timo Boll-Ricardo Walther.
Other challengers for the title include world championships silver medallists the Romanian-Spanish partnership of Ovidiu Ionescu-Alvaro Robles.
Ding Ning-Sun Yingsha will have to be at their best from the word “go” in the women’s doubles category, having drawn Elizabeta Samara-Daniela Monteiro Dodean of Romania in the opening round. Japan’s Miu Hirano-Kasumi Ishikawa are also in the same position in a highly competitive half of the draw. China’s Chen Meng-Wang Manyu are the top seeds and favourites.
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