BERLIN, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- China took four berths in men's singles quarterfinals as Xu Xin, Yan An, Liang Jingkun and Fan Zhendong powered through into the round of last eight at the ITTF German Open here on Friday.
Yan managed a dramatic comeback victory against Brazilian Calderano Hugo 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-8.
"I didn't play well in the first game. I haven't been participating in World Tour events for a long time and I played too carefully. I was afraid to use all my skills because I was nervous and have played conservatively," Yan said.
"But the moment I was 1-3 behind, I suddenly freed my mind and played well. I am really happy to win this match."
Yan will meet on Saturday his fellow countryman Xu, as the world No.1 had a 4-2 win over Lee Sang-su of South Korea.
Elsewhere, Fan triumphed over teammate Wang Chuqin 4-2 to book a quarterfinal clash with home favorite Timo Boll, who survived a seven-set thriller against Japanese Jun Mizutani 4-3. Liang will take on Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto, who eased past veteran Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus 4-1.
"From the very beginning this was a game with many ups and downs, a rollercoaster match. I sometimes acted too cautiously and Jun took a high risk. It's not often that I come back in the seventh game after being so far behind. I just played the ball back on the table when I was 3-9 behind, served well and regained my balance," Boll said.
The women's singles quarterfinals will see two all-Chinese clash between Sun Yingsha and Chen Xingtong, and Wang Yidi and Wang Manyu while Mima Ito of Japan faces Yang Xiaoxin of Monaco, who ousted defending champion Kasumi Ishikawa.
