Germany's Boll wins 2012 European table tennis championships

 Germany's Boll wins 2012 European table tennis championships

COPENHAGEN, Oct. 21(Xinhua) -- Germany's Timo Boll powered his way to victory over Croatia's Tan Ruiwu at the finals of the 2012 European Table Tennis Championships in Herning, central Denmark, on Sunday.

First seed Boll showed his mastery of the sport as he powered through 26th seed Tan 11-2, 11-6, 11-7, 11-13, 11-9, winning in five sets, in 39 minutes.

Tan was on the back foot from the very first set, although he had already sent three other much better seeded German players packing in the tournament, to prove himself a tough competitor. He shook off final match nerves against the favorite Boll, and engaged in some good duels¹, even winning the fourth set.

Boll's technique was simply much better, and he went on to claim the title, which is the sixth European trophy² of his career, making him the most successful European player of all time.

Earlier Sunday, third seed Viktoria Pavlovich of Belarus beat 15th seed Xian Yifang of France in a grueling encounter lasting³ 51 minutes.

Pavlovich won 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11, in a match that commentators⁴ had predicted would be a drawn-out affair, given the extremely defensive⁵ nature of play by both competitors.

But the Belarusian showed patience and capitalized on the French player's mistakes, forcing the latter to move quickly and return high shots, which she exploited, and ultimately converted to a title win.

1 duels   

n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 )；竞争，斗争

参考例句：

• That's where I usually fight my duels. 我经常在那儿进行决斗。” 来自英语晨读30分（初三）
• Hyde Park also became a favourite place for duels. 海德公园也成了决斗的好地方。 来自辞典例句

2 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。