Olympic Games: Dimitrij Ovtcharov moves confidently into the round of 16
Germany's Mr. Olympia has confidently reached the round of the best 16 in Paris. The record Olympic medal winner Dimitrij Ovtcharov is now facing a duel against France's 17-year-old superstar Felix Lebrun for a place in the quarter-finals after his well-deserved 4:1 win in the second round match against Brazil's Vitor Ishiy.
Ovtcharov uses sixth match point to win
Dimitrij Ovtcharov followed up his 4-0 opening win over Mexico's Marcos Madrid with another impressive performance in his second match against Vitor Ishiy, winning in five sets. However, the Brazilian's set win after the former world number one had taken a 3:0 lead was an avoidable blemish. After leading 10:6 and 12:11 in the fourth set, Ovtcharov missed five match points in a row before refocusing and converting his sixth in the fifth set to secure a comfortable 11:4, 11:8, 11:9, 11:13 and 11:3 victory over the world number 86. Men's national coach Jörg Roßkopf praised: “That was a confident performance from Dima.”
Dimitrij Ovtcharov left no doubt about the balance of power at the table from the start of the match and quickly secured victory in the first set. Vitor Ishiy put up a good fight in the duel against the favored world number 14, but was only able to break the German's dominance in phases over the entire distance of the match. The 28-year-old was only really dangerous for his seven-year-older opponent when he significantly increased the risk in his shots in order to break through Ovtcharov's equally safe and hard half-distance game, at least in phases. In this way, Ishiy, who plays professionally in France, not only won the second set but also tied the match at 8:8 and took a 9:8 lead in the next game.
Dimitrij Ovtcharov: “Something like this doesn't happen to me often”
However, the bronze medallist from London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 defused both situations immediately with three impressive point wins in a row, but he was unable to prevent the loss of the fourth set despite five chances to win the match early. After the match, Ovtcharov said: “Vitor Ishiy is an unpleasant opponent who, like Hugo Calderano, plays at very high risk. When he hits his best balls, he is strong. I sometimes caught his first ball, but then he also plays a strong second and third ball. Losing the fourth set after leading 10:6 hurt. That doesn't happen to me very often. But I can't really blame myself either. My balls were solid and he played his best table tennis with his back to the wall just before the end. I said to myself in the break between sets, come on, you're leading 3:1, and tried to keep the intensity very high from the first rally in the fifth. I managed to do that well and that's how I quickly took the edge off him in the fifth set. In the end, it was a solid match that I deserved to win.”
In the round of 16 against the world number four Felix Lebrun
Ovtcharov now faces 17-year-old local hero Felix Lebrun in the round of 16. France's world number four causes the South Paris Arena 4 with its 6,400 spectators to shake with each of his appearances and provides the background noise of a soccer stadium. Dimitrij Ovtcharov admits: “The next match will of course be exciting. After I saw the draw, I had the possible duel with Felix in my head right from the start. Now, of course, the level will be completely different. He is number four in the world behind three Chinese players, that alone speaks for itself. I have the utmost respect for the way he has developed. I've been around for a long time and the Olympics are always something very special. But here in France against Felix, the hall will shake like I've never experienced before. Maybe I'll have to do like Novak Djokovic, who often draws his energy from knowing that the crowd is against him.”
Nevertheless, the six-time Olympic medal winner believes he has a good chance against the Frenchman, against whom he has lost the two previous matches: “I'm looking forward to the experience and the match, it will be a very special challenge. Of course I'm here to win this match, even though I know how difficult it will be. In addition to his many other qualities, Felix is one of the best servers in the world. If I get into the match well against him, I'm in good spirits.”
Source: DTTB press release
Feature pictures: Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)