Hugo Calderano – Photo Credit: Flickr

Brazil’s Hugo Calderano of Brazil has become the first player from Latin America to win a WTT trophy. The 25-year old achieved a 4-2 victory over Darko Jorgic of Slovenia (11-5, 6-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-9) in the WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Men’s Singles final. 

Calderano finally displayed his promising potential for international success in Doha. He fell to the floor in disbelief after the match, Calderano leads not only his country, but his home continent to new heights with his victory over Jorgic. This guaranteed him a career-best world ranking of fifth position on the Men’s Singles ladder. 

The professional table tennis player seeded second for the event and made a bright start to the final with a strong opening game display. However, he soon encountered a major stumbling block. 

With the final sitting all-square at one game apiece, eighth seed Jorgic saved three game points in the third game to take the lead for the first time in the match. Calderano was disappointed with the outcome and responded by claiming the next three games on the bounce. 

“I’m feeling great, and I’m so happy to win the title. It was a tough match, both physically and mentally. It probably wasn’t the best level we can play; I think we were both tired from the rest of the tournament, but I was able to push myself and deal with the situation, so I’m very happy with my performance,” Calderano said. 

“In the fourth game, I was down 6-3, and I think that was a key moment for me when I recovered as it was very tough for him to come back after I won the game. The main thing is winning the title, of course, but it’s also great to see it showing in the rankings, so I’m just happy and will try and celebrate it as much as I can.” 

Both Calderano and Jorgic enjoyed impressive semi-final victories earlier in the day and accounted for Liam Pitchford of England (11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9) and Lee Sangsu of the Republic of Korea (13-11, 12-14, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-2).