[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]I played the 4-star San Diego Open this past weekend which featured 226 players from various places including many players from Mexico. I decided last-minute to go as some students were out of town this Memorial Day weekend so went to play with a late airplane
and hotel booking. I hardly ever practice now but decided to try playing anyway. I have been doing body strengthening exercises which allowed me to play this tournament or I would have gotten injured as I’m not that young anymore. My left leg did swell up on Sunday as I’m not used to all the moving and footwork that matches require but it didn’t affect my play.
I had one good win as I beat the #3 seed in the Open Singles, 2561-rated Bruno Ventura Dos Anjos, in Open Singles who recently finished second in men’s singles at the Collegiate Nationals. He has wins against some good Chinese players. I was up 2-0 in games but then down 10-8 in the 5th but came back to win 12-10. I was told his backhand was really good but I had more trouble with his forehand. I didn’t do that well in my group matches preceding this match and didn’t do that well the rest of the tournament but was able to pull out this match. In the quarterfinals of the Open Singles, I lost 4-2 to long-time Mexican National Champion and Mexican Team Member Guillermo Munoz.
Bruno is studying in Dallas at Texas Wesleyan (table-tennis college powerhouse as it’s one of the only colleges to give table-tennis scholarships in the US) but was originally from Brazil so I guess I like to play players from Brazil. My best international win was defeating Pan American Games Gold Medalist and Olympian Thiago Monteiro of Brazil at the 1999 Swedish Open Pro Tour. That was a critical test for me before the 2000 North American Olympic Trials as he had beaten 2-time Olympian Todd Sweeris, Olympian Peter-Paul Pradeeban, and US National Men’s Singles Champion Eric Owens earlier in the year at the 1999 Pan Am Games. It was cool for me that I beat Monteiro as he beat former World #1 Timo Boll’s doubles partner at the time, Zoltan Fejer-Konnerth, in the same group so I was in a 3-way tie with the European Doubles Champion!
Here are highlights of the Collegiate Men’s Singles Final featuring Bruno Ventura Dos Anjos which he narrowly lost.
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