Women's top seed Fukuhara suffers shock defeat to doubles partner at ITTF World Tour Grand Finals

Misako Wakamiya of Japan picked up a shock victory over doubles partner Ai Fukuhara today ©Rémy Gros/ITTF

Japan’s Misako Wakamiya marked her first-ever appearance at the season-ending International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Grand Finals event by stunning doubles partner and top seed Ai Fukuhara with a shock win in Lisbon today.

Wakamiya, the number 15th seed, demonstrated composure under pressure and didn’t appear daunted by the task ahead of her as she battled to a 11-13, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 triumph.

“I made a good start which gave me confidence but I knew that it would be a very difficult match,” she said.

“It was important from the backhand to play really fast but not from the forehand; from the forehand I needed to play with as much top spin as possible.

“Also it was vital to keep calm and composed.”

World Championships silver medallist Liu Shiwen had no such problems as she dispatched South Korea’s Seo Hyowon 8-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4 to ensure her pursuit of a fourth Grand Finals title got off to the best possible start.

Elsewhere in the women’s singles event, sixth seed Jeon Jihee of South Korea made light work of teammate and doubles partner Yang Haeun by breezing to a comfortable 13-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10 victory.

Fifteen-year-old Japanese sensation Mima Ito, who became the youngest winner of an ITTF Pro Tour event when she reigned supreme at the German Open earlier this year, was on the wrong side of a 11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3 scoreline in her opener with Chen Meng of China.

Olympic champion Zhang Jike claimed victory in his opening match over Lee Sangsu ©Getty Images

In the men’s event, Olympic champion Zhang Jike was involved in a tense affair as he overcame South Korea’s Lee Sangsu in a marathon six-game contest.

Zhang, who has failed to secure a major title in 2015 so far, looked to be back to top form, eventually prevailing with a 11-9, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 success.

It proved to be a difficult day for the Korean players as Kim Donghyun was comprehensively beaten 11-6, 11-9, 11-3, 12-10 by number three seed Fan Zhendong, while Japan’s Yuya Oshima edged Jung Youngsik 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 11-2, 6-11, 4-11, 14-12.

Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan also enjoyed success on the opening day of men’s singles action as he proved too strong for Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting, clinching a 11-5, 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4 victory.

The pick of the men's first-round matches saw European champion Dimitrij Ovtcharov come up against Jun Mizutani of Japan in a repeat of the 2014 Grand Finals gold medal contest and the German managed to avenge last year's defeat with a 7-11, 6-11, 16-14, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7 ,7-11 win in what proved to be a marathon contest.

Olympic champion Ma Long managed a comfortable win, seeing off Portugal's European Games team gold medallist Marcos Freitas 11-7, 11-3, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8.