Tomokazu Harimoto vs Quadri Aruna | MS R32 | #USSMASH 2025

...bit off the top of the net here for Tomo. Now, when I mentioned all the, I'd say, perks... ...server comes back to get ready. A few IOUs here. It's not the first time Tomo's clipped the net so far. The third seed off to an incredible start here. ...so often anymore. And just like that, I give you game one. Finished. One. ...cover most of the table. But can't get there. Sharp from Tomokazu. Yeah, the backhand punch. Tomo with a bit more spin on it. ...first come along. Good question. And here's the Chose again. He's vocal. I just can't remember the last time I saw a pro against a pro go, you know what, he's shouting, I'm going to shout. ...middle of the table or long cross court, he still might win a fair share of rallies. ...took a long time. After saying that, Tomo comes back with the counter. Arun likes it in the crowd. We were talking mercy. Two game points. The Nigerian has arrived in this match big time now, and the crowd are going with him. Forehand ending. Follow-up to the top spin backhand serve. From Mercy to Murda. It's Quadri Aruna to come back and turn the tables. Oh, he got that. I love seeing him take these spinny backhands. He's been quite successful in terms of making the shots and keeping the pressure in front here, getting into the backhand to backhand game. This is amazing, Harimoto, because it's blasting on both wings from Quadri Aruna, but he is winning these rallies. And that's smart from Quadri Aruna. A little side spin. I like that, like a boxer ducks under it. It's working. Sometimes you see him do everything to try and get into a position for the forehand, and you think he's never going to recover from this. There's something outside of the box. Another point. What a run. Just spice things up a little bit in here this evening. The crowd's really, really engaged. Celebrate point, don't you? Two games to one. Still tempted. Was that a chop block out of Quadri Aruna? It's an all-you-can-eat buffet as long as you're right. With another A to a Q, it keeps coming back, and he powers through. That can be very discouraging for Tomo. Six, five. Smart placement there into the middle to get Tomo to lean, excuse me, to get Quadri to lean rather. Mist or not at the back of the table, side, yes. Timing Tomo. Leaning in, getting up on the balls of his feet to catch this one early and come down on it. Heavy spin comes in. Ball near the end, and Tomo finally gets a shot that he can just obliterate. How many shots? 22. Set up these two game points. And Tomo takes it. You know what this means. We are going to the D, to the side, to the der. Grab those snacks and healthy beverages. Finally! Six, four. It's just so amazing for me mentally what you have to do to prepare when Quadri brings out that what he would call... Tomo! And Tomo takes it back. From down one, two, he wins games four and five. Quite a battle here. Quadri Aruna and Tomokazu Harimoto. Massive respect on both sides. And boy did they put on a fight. Two very different players with very different skill sets. And the well-balanced third seed survives.