Boll holds nerve to survive thriller
Xinhua, April 30, 2015 Adjust font size:
German star Timo Boll kept his nerves to beat Portugal's Joao Monteiro in a seven-set thriller and reach the men's singles fourth round at the world table tennis championships on Thursday.
Facing a player 28 positions lower on the world rankings, the seventh ranked Boll had been struggling until 10-all at the deciding game, winning the match 11-5, 7-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-7, 3-11, 12-10.
The last minutes saw Boll win a topspin rally to lead 10-9 before Monteiro pulled even with a forehand killer. The Portuguese was under immense pressure as he hit wide a shot and then sent a return to the net while misjudging spin on Boll's shot.
Boll faces Hong Kong player Wong Chun Ting on Friday. Endi