Francesca earned the respect of Wang Chuqin and faced one of the best players in the world in the final
The German Table Tennis Association recently wrote an article praising Francesca's great success at the 2024 WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam: the first non-Chinese table tennis player to reach the final of the WTT Grand Slam!
Recently, Patrick Franziska closed the Saudi Grand Slam with the biggest success of his career to date. The 31-year-old from Saarbrücken had to concede defeat to world No. 1 Wang Chuqin (China) in Saudi Arabia after a hard-fought six-set battle to claim silver, US$33,050 in prize money and 1,400 world ranking points. With the release of the new ITTF rankings, he will jump from 16th to an all-time high of 9th from Tuesday. In the women's event, Olympic champion Chen Meng defeated world champion Sun Yingsha in the all-Chinese final.
Francesca became the first non-Chinese player to reach a WTT Grand Slam final
Francesca: "Of course, I'm a little sad to lose the final, but I also have to admit that Wang Chuqin played almost perfectly today and deserved to win the match. ”
Despite the eventual loss, Patrick Francesca was pleased with his remarkable performance in Saudi Arabia, where the Saarbrücken native was the first non-Chinese player to reach the final of a top-tier WTT Grand Slam event. In the first three editions of the competition held in Singapore, ahead of today's final, Fan Zhendong (2022, 2023) and Wang Chuqin (2024) were among the winners of the first and second places.
Proud Francesca: "It's unbelievable, it's the greatest success of my career"
During a stellar week in Saudi Arabia, Patrick Francesca could only be stopped in the final by Wang Chuqin, who almost single-handedly made his mark on the WTT Finals, Singapore and Saudi Arabia Grand Slam in 2024.
Francesca was already smiling again at the award ceremony, and when commenting on his surprise second place, his voice rightfully showed pride and satisfaction: "It's unbelievable to be in the final with all the top players in such a fierce competition so far. "If someone had told me before the game that I would be the first non-Chinese to achieve this, I would hardly have believed it."
Wang Chuqin: "A wonderful final against one of the best players in the world"
The German has already won the European round of 16, the European Doubles Championship and the European Games Mixed Doubles Championship in his career, as well as finishing third in the Mixed Doubles and Doubles and third in the singles at the World Championships. Congratulations to Wang Chuqin on his 24th birthday, winning 4-2.
Patrick Francesca didn't give away any birthday presents in his showdown with China, though, but he didn't find a way in time to stop the left-hander's incredible dominance.
Wang Chuqin praised his opponent: "Today's final against Patrick was very exciting, Patrick is definitely one of the top players in the world. I studied him carefully before the first fight and decided the match in my favour in the sixth set."
Patrick Francesca is more consistent and excellent than ever
The world's top 20 players compete in this top-tier Grand Slam tournament organised by WTT, with Patrick Francesca in top form more than ever on eight main days.
The 2021 European Round of 16 champions defeated the elusive Dane Anders Lind, Spanish prodigy Alvaro Robles, two-time world champion Fan Zhendong (China), and European champion and world No. 10 Qiu Dang (Fortuna Dusseldorf). He also had a semi-final win over South Korea's Jang Woo-jin, one of the most dangerous players in the WTT series, after beating Grand Slam superstar Ma Long and France's world No. 5 Felix Lebrun.
Patrick Francesca: "I'm confident in my game"
At the same time, in addition to the game, there is a little luck at the crucial moments, which is necessary for great success. Francesca was humble about his excellent performance: "I was confident in this week's fight and my backhand, it worked out really well. But at this level, everything is always close: in the first round against Linde, I was almost out. In the match against Fan Zhendong, I had two match points, and in the deciding set, I was down 5-8, you have to always believe in your chances and fight for every point, which showed very well in this match.
Germany Men's National Team Coach Roscoff: "Patrick's great game"
The right-hander defeated Fan Zhendong again in Saudi Arabia with a brutal backspin, underlining his reputation as one of the most fearsome opponents of the Chinese superstar.
Jörg Roßkopf congratulated his protégé on his excellent overall performance: "It was a great match for Patrick Francesca, who is now one of the top 10 players in the best tournament in the world. ”
Francesca will be ranked ninth in the world from Tuesday: "Dreams come true"
As a reward for his outstanding achievement, Francesca earned the highest prize money of his career from a Grand Slam tournament of $33,050, as well as a staggering 1,400 points, the only tournament category with a similar distribution of points to the World Ranking On Tuesday, when the new ITTF rankings were announced, he won the tournament and Olympic titles, jumping from 16th to the top 10 for the first time. Francesca, the new world number nine, is second in Europe in the next edition of the global rankings, behind Frenchman Felix Lebrun, while finishing first ahead of European champion Dangqiu, Olympic medal record holder Dimitri Ocharov and European record winner Timo Bol. Franziska's previous record was 11th with dates back to 2022.
WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam results
Men's Singles Final
Patrick Francesca Germany - Wang Chuqin China 2:4 (-2,-7,-5,8,10,-6)
Women's Singles Final
Chen Meng China - Sun Yingsha China 4:2 (-6,5,8,9,-6,8)
Ping Pong Hu Qingyuan