FULL MATCH | Hugo Calderano vs Kanak Jha | MS R32 | #WTTMontpellier 2025

And everything else against Kanuk Jha for his first time in WTT. There's the power! The sound of that backhand. And there's still a fair share of topspin on it to keep it coming down and in play. Wow! Receive is going to be crucial for anybody against Hugo Calderano. Kanuk included. I can go on and on about the skills of Hugo Calderano. Kanuk Jha is deceptively good at table tennis. And he's actually very physically strong. Anyone who knew him from four years ago has seen how much he's bulked up, even in the last two years. But this is somebody who can do just an incredible amount of pull-ups, hang from a pull-up bar for longer than most people could pay attention. Soft and awkward, and it comes down on the back of the table first from Hugo. That's why the point ended immediately. Contacts, you'll see it from here. If you didn't see it the first time around, a doink, now it's done. Pretty crazy cool, though, that it came down on the net. That was like a skateboarding trick with a table tennis ball. Too much heat. The idea is right, and Kanuk Jha will win a lot of points like this against many players in the world. Hugo's demonstrated his power. That ball right there is what we would call lukewarm, and it's not going to be enough for Hugo Calderano. Kanuk plays like an engineer. He's constantly changing his game, has belief. You can imagine Jorg Bitzigayo taking some notes right now because Hugo Calderano, his attack game has been unavoidable, sideswiping this. The wide stance, constantly in position. The idea is right, but Hugo Calderano has been everywhere he needs to be. Navigating the court wonderfully here, soft hands. Even if that ball comes down into play, Hugo's ready with the backhand topspin. From behind the table, that is authoritative. Really, Kanuk Jha has better position in that point by quite a bit. The top seed up 7-1 here in the first for this best of five. Good flick in the middle here to get his second point, Kanuk Jha. I was just thinking before this point, one interesting thing about table tennis, I think for anybody, you just have to remind yourself that you can start fresh in game two. Obviously, we're still in game one, but no matter what the score line is here, we've seen players get dominated in the first. A bit of fortune there as that ball takes a nice big chunk out of the net on the way over, leaving Hugo under the table with not much to do, but try and get it around the net, scoop it up. Wow! There have been a few points between these two, namely in a continental event where Kanuk Jha, maybe it was a World Cup, where Hugo chopped the ball, was back against the barrier, came running in. He had no business winning that point, yet he did it from behind the table again. Hugo Calderano showing his danger, why he's the top seed here. Think about how many balls Kanuk played right off the bounce in that rally. He earned himself a good shot early on to start. Good initiative here. Opening with the backhand topspin, Kanuk getting his fourth point. Both of these players living and playing in Germany. The power on this backhand, blistering. If you've never seen a commercial for a table tennis ball, this is probably the best one you can imagine. With the power they're playing with, the ball doesn't crack on impact, and it is six game points for Hugo Calderano. Idea was clever, but Hugo Calderano is leaving very few gaps in his game. Power and angles the sidespin, it's still in. Ah, but the rip carries long. Calderano extending this point quite a bit. So quite a different start here. At least it feels that way. Heavy side, making the ball carry back to Kanuk's left side. Just an inch, that's all he needs. A half-long serve that's a little closer to that baseline, and it's stolen. Perfect positioning, wide stance, legs under the table, Calderano levels the playing field quickly. Patient play. The touch game back and forth at the net, this is his way of saying, I know you're hungry to get aggressive, Hugo, I know you've got the power, but let's see how long you can hold off. You can hear Kanuk's feet shuffling right before the contact as he gets ready. Kanuk is one of the best blocking players in the world, and yet still, that's how difficult it has been to contain Hugo. And an escape. Funky bounce here from behind the table, this time Hugo wins on the defense. Good serve. Felt like Hugo picked up a little bit early, that the serve was coming long to the forehand, would have been very effective, had it been slightly more surprising, but surprising enough to get Hugo behind the table. There it is, this time the closure on the racket, and playing it safely cross-court. When you have a heavy spin shot, if you're worried about missing it, use the length of the table. Kanuk does that perfectly here. Remember, Hugo played under a French coach, Jean-René Meunier, for quite some time, as did Simon Gauzy, who's now the high-performance director, essentially, for the French Federation of Tennis de Tableau. Forgive me. So Kanuk with the lead here, relatively early in game two, after a quite one-sided game one. Nice change of pace with Hugo a step behind the table. Kanuk slows it down, creates a more shallow shot. Watch where the bounce is on Kanuk's last ball. Both about half-long, looks back at Bitsy as if to say, yep, sticking with the plan. I got you. Forgot to mention this, but the forehand flick, one of the toughest shots in the game, is something that Kanuk has a lot of success with. A lot of confidence. Here, doesn't go for the kill, just enough pressure, still some arc, some top spin on it. Clever placement, surprising depth here as Hugo Calderano rushes the pivot. Not a lot of rotation on it. A little bit longer push. Very little telegraph, hence the surprise. I like the idea from Kanuk. Again, shallow spin for the first shot, looking for the same, but it comes down on the net. It's a smart way to play when you've got someone who's good in the open rally, who's used to getting mid-distance. Don't drive it to them. Make it come in at their knees. Taking the pace off it, Kanuk extending his lead back to two at the second towel break. Again, game number one is just that, and in a best of five, it's the first player to win three, even if you're beating 11-0 in the first two. He can come back and win. Is it likely? Nope, but it's possible. Good touch here from Hugo to play it wide to the backhand. Kanuk had a long way to go to step around this one. High toss, light underspin, and perfect placement with that long push. And Hugo creating some discomfort for Kanuk here, slowing it down with the spin game. Now, I know this is their first WTT match. Kanuk has beaten Hugo before. It was just a few years ago, three at the ITTF Pan Am Champs. 2022, a 3-0 victory for Kanuk. Hugo Calderano has won 10 times. And with shots like this, you can understand why. Game one gave us plenty of evidence for the capability that the top seed has. Capabilities, plural. This exchange makes you love table tennis. Footwork, speed, sideswiping, seatbelt shots, and Hugo hits the purple line from way out of position. Put that in your Spongebob hat and squeeze it. Six of the last eight points for the thrill from Brazil, and man, was that a good one. Well, this has been a tough time out for Kanuk Jha because just down by one, and Hugo Calderano plays the best point we've seen this match. Followed by this full commitment backhand from the forehand side of the table to end the point, setting up three game points for a 2-0 lead. 10-8. Served well to get a third ball opportunity and a short-stroke forehand to put it away. You can hear the approval quickly from Bitsy. I'm learning. I want to be the person who leads that chant. It's so cool. One person gets to pretend to be a horn. As they dry their hands, they get ready. It's two game points left for Hugo. Ooh. Wow. Kanuk dealing with some heat. Heavy spin. Here's some serious power. Comes off the top of the net. There was one shot before that that was impressive, too, and Kanuk handled it well. Not easy to calibrate to the most powerful man in the game. Third game point, Hugo. Second serve. Commitment, and it carries long. Kanuk survives. He was leading this game for the majority of the game. Then down 7-8, calls the timeout. Soft hands in the touch game. You don't have to be the first to attack in table tennis to win. Typically, it is to your advantage, but not always. This is a bit of an escape here for Hugo. Kanuk Jah on his forehand flick. Like peanut butter and jelly. Not in the sense that you can buy them at a grocery store, but in the sense that they go well together. Fourth game point for Hugo Calderano. For example, there it is, the forehand flick, and it all comes down to the soft hands in that receive game. Kanuk Jah has to loosen up the grip so much. He plays it low to the net, and right near the baseline, a half-long push so that Hugo can't wait for the attack. Second deuce point. Patient play for the moment, and when the angle presents itself, you will know. Don't move until you see it, Kanuk. Took a long time. Think of how many points we've seen patient play from Kanuk Jah. One punch, and then springs on that forehand. Side spin. I will take an attack with a side of side spin, please. Game point, Kanuk Jah. And he takes it! How many game points? Four? Did he say four game points? Game number three, and it's leveled. One game apiece. By the way, in case you weren't familiar, Frankfurt's coming up really soon. That's next week. As soon as this event ends, we go to bed, we wake up early the next morning, and we go to Frankfurt. That's right, Germany. The home country of both of these players right now. And in an ever-evolving game of table tennis, the tactics are constantly changing. Hugo's planning to do a lot of moving out here. Sweat drips. He makes sure it doesn't lead to any slips, because he's got some fast feet. Chop block. Kanuk dropping it like it's hot. They're taking off that bottom left corner of the ball. Side and under spin to change the pace. Check it out. And the floor is wet. I heard Hugo say, or Kanuk say, I'm like, that's weird. It sounded like Kanuk's voice, but I saw Hugo cleaning the floor. Okay. Good times. I'm going to pull my foot out of my mouth for just a minute. Be right back. One, two. So Kanuk Ja, despite the timeout not immediately coming into effect, he cashed it in in game number two. Short stroke. Now I mentioned Kanuk Ja's ability to block and his forehand flick. When I say block, I mean he keeps the racket higher than most. Look how high the racket weights. It's almost at his shoulder blades. On the front, the clavicle, I guess. The collarbone. He knows it's much easier to drop the racket than it is to lift it. Fight gravity. Oh, quick action here. Little fancy footwork here as he pulls the right foot back. Hugo plays the line once again. Very polite clap there. Very considerate of the people sitting next to her. Long serve. Catches what appears to be the purple of the net just based on the way the net shook and it came back. So four to two at the first towel break. Hugo Calderano. 22 points coming into this game compared to the 17 of Kanuk Ja. We've seen matches before where the winning player got less points than the opponent to complete the three games needed in a best of five. Well played. Hugo patiently turns the racket sideways to spin the ball up with a bit of side spin on it. It's a tough way to win a point. Hugo takes the opening attack. Stays on the attack and Kanuk Ja using the cross court with the counters. Again, it's more than a block. It's active. He's putting top spin on it with a short stroke. Kanuk. Oh, that's a tough ball. Good bend on this. The backhand as he brushes it and comes around the ball to send it out to the wide forehand. Bit of surprise factor here. Wow. It was like he untucked it. He pulled it out from a pocket. Bit of help from the net there but not an easy ball for Hugo to open up as strongly as he did. Kanuk gave an awkward ball back. Been a lot of matches here today. It's been quite a busy day. Many of these fans have been here since the early morning watching. By early morning, I mean early afternoon. I got to know the story of this guy in the flower shirt in the front row. Two points between them. Kanuk trailing. Big serves to come. Heavy spin. Quick footwork. Again, it all starts with the legs. The feet. When you plant, you set yourself up for what the upper body has done tens of thousands of times in recent history. How comfortable does Hugo look setting up for that? So a bit of a pull away here at the towel break. Second one. Hugo from very low. Getting a lot of spring in these shots. By the way, the winner of this match will play big brother from Korea Republic, Lee Sang-soo, in the next round. The winner of that will play the winner of Jang Woo-jin in Linyunru. The silent assassin. There are no easy draws at a champions event. Oh! Handled well. Hugo goes deep to the corner on a ball that I thought Kanuk took everything off of. Very soft, awkward ball. And as deep of a push as can be. Kanuk had a long way to go to get back for that one. Corner to corner, quick with the backhand on the receive. Kanuk's speed. There are very few players that feel as fast in the timing as Kanuk. Koki Niwa had this quality. Kanuk Ja has this quality. He's able to recover so quickly. So much that you might have to call a friend and tell him about it if you're in the front row. From under the table, Hugo keeps it in play for a bit. As someone who's lobbed a fair share of balls to Kanuk over the decades, I will say his confidence to take it right off the bounce is incredible. He understands the game so well. Kanuk. So casual at this level of play. What players can do three points between them. Kanuk's been chasing for some time. And a rip of a receive. Hugo steals that one from baseline. It's not the first time we've seen Hugo in form where it just seems like this guy. How do you play someone this strong? Benedict Doudon. Malmo had an answer. It's four game points for Hugo. And he takes it in the exchange with his backhand. Eleven to six. Closer to the score line in game number one. Keeping him away from the table. Hugo doing a wonderful job of helping his odds. Some active play. Hugo working it around quite well here. Even from the start of this match, Hugo's been behind the table. What was he up? Eight one? One. First point for Kanuk this game. Much needed. It's a now or never situation. Must win for Kanuk. Game four. Jordan Bitzigayo trying to instill a bit of confidence. Kanuk has his fair share of confidence but in any given moment it's constantly changing for any player. Pressure has that effect. As does an ever changing scoreboard. It's good placement. Good speed. If that ball's slightly slower Hugo steps around and has a ripping shot waiting. No time with the pressure Kanuk puts on. Fast, low, very fluid. Loose backhand. That's a shot where you don't grip the racket handle tightly. If you do, you can't generate that much racket speed. This is an escape. Hugo on the defense there. Fishing shot. Kanuk to the short side. That's tough. Let's it roll off the shoulders though. Kanuk tugs his shirt to get ready as you see. It's one of his mannerisms to sort of reset. Mentally focus. There was the full power. Unleashing. Beast mode. As Hugo asks for a little cleaning here. Kanuk's like if he's going to get a towel I'm going to use mine as well. Tough to pull over two speeding cars at the same time. I don't know if the analogy holds. I've never tried it but I think you get the idea. Good placement indeed. Got Hugo to move over and play the backhand to cover the elbow. Chop block ripped. He used it effectively earlier. That's a wonderful chop block but with Hugo at the table he's able to catch it at its peak and play it with confidence. Spin. Yeah, that ball is about twice the height of the net. Hugo, whatever the fortune was acknowledges it quickly. Takes a one point lead. It wasn't long ago that Hugo tried to turn that corner and Kanuk played a speedy shot with the backhand cross court. Here a little bit more arc and Hugo was there and ready quickly. Good spin to the deep forehand. Placement. That's Hugo trying to stretch. Play a little bit more of a slap shot back. Still spin on it but you can hear that sound. Contact. Nice placement. Leaves it right near that baseline under the table and at the second towel break it's level. That's a very uncomfortable ball asked Tomo Kazu or Christian Carlson or any table tennis fan that gets that reference. The table doesn't move and the edges of pro tables are sharp. I can tell you that. I picked a fight with the table in Vietnam once and the table won. Leveled out here out of the second towel break. They dry the floor and get ready. Crucial times for Kanuk Jha. Hugo does not want game number five. The only way for Kanuk to survive. Tighter serve. Gets a passive receive out of Hugo which isn't easy to do. This is maybe the third time in this game where Kanuk has had an opportunity that normally he would convert but Hugo's made some incredible shots from out of position quite frankly. So that just adds more pressure. Touch play. Soft hands as Kanuk secures. The placement once again. A lot of ways to win a point in table tennis. Soft hands here using the length of the table. And you can just feel how Hugo's trying to avoid that back edge of the table while still brushing the ball with just enough contact to carry it over. And it's three game points for Kanuk to send this to a decider. In game number one which was 11-4 for Hugo. You might not have guessed we'd be here. But it's still not over. The last point of any game is the toughest one to get. And Hugo saves a game point to get the serves back on his side at the third towel break. They were even at six points apiece at the last towel break. So Kanuk with the momentum right now. Despite the last point being won by Hugo. Still a long way to go for Kanuk. But if you beat the top seed you take over the best draw. In theory. There's a lot of randomness to this draw as the internet will tell you. And anyone watching really with the amount of same country battles early on. Good power inside the table to save another game point. Hugo springing at the opportunity. Pressure building here. Kanuk's already used his time out. Kanuk takes it! 11-9 we get a decider game number five. Here we go. 61% behind the top seed. What a rally! Conversation with Bitsy. He wants to play the forehand and Hugo's calling for sweat cleanup. Wow! That was quite a first point. Look at the facial expression on Minnie Mouse in the crowd. She had her jaw dropped. She's turning around to check in with everybody else. Did you see what I just saw? Oh! Turned and burned. The pattern. Hugo's saying I guess I need to ask, right? Am I cool to clean it? Every point he'll do what he has to. This is why he changes shirts incredibly often. He's a sweaty guy. He works hard. It's paid off. On the scale everybody's somewhere different on that scale. Hugo Calderano just needs to make sure that he can trust himself to push off. He doesn't step in any wetness. Forehand flick. Kanuk's played it a few times this match and it hasn't been a kill shot. It's just been enough to put pressure on the opponent. Make them worry that it's a kill shot and back up. Surrender that valuable real estate at the table. Take a look here. There it is. 75% maybe that forehand flick. If that. More about placement. Oh! As half long as can be. I don't know what it was that hit the table. If it was the racket a complete change of heart at the last moment realizing the ball would not come off the table. That's what half long is all about. Again, placement. You don't have to be the most powerful player in the world to win a point in table tennis or to win the match. Well placed serve using the half long as well here. Hugo just enough bite with the backspin. Leaving Kanuk just below table height as he tries to brush up for that. This is what they talked about. Kanuk going to that deep backhand corner. If he can't hit it out of reach on the forehand. Hugo loves to step around. Bitsy Gayo has made a wonderful career. Jorg Bitsy Gayo of recognizing patterns. How players respond to different pressure. There's just something about Kanuk's game that is well understated. I feel like he could be unless he was world number one for a few years straight. A lot of people won't appreciate how good he is at table tennis. Takes a chance here with a long serve but fast feet as Hugo steps around and punishes. How many resets there were of the footing. All this to tighten it up to a 4-3 lead for Kanuk. Patient play from Kanuk. A spectacular point and Kup was there for it all. I say patient and yet still Hugo brings home some powerful balls from out of play. That ripping backhand Kanuk keeps the racket high with perfect condition and control. That look from Hugo to hit two of those shots and have neither of them win the rally. Man, the crowd appreciates some brilliance on the defensive side. 2019 was the third consecutive World Championships title for Ma Long the greatest of all time. And arguably the best performance against him in that World Championships was courtesy of Kanuk Jia. Oh man! Creation on push from Hugo and the counter. Kanuk gets that big one back after the ball sits that high against the most powerful player in the world. And Kanuk still counters. Hugo fighting to get in front he's still trailing. Mindfulness Mama knows best. Kanuk spent a long time practicing the same. The Brazilian Brainiac channeling his best right now. Touch play he does. It's a very specialized set of skills. Not the type that Liam Neeson brings to the table but table tennis just has more factors than any racket sport I know. The spin is such an incredible factor. Placement, speed, arc trajectory everything else and the amount of surfaces different models of equipment that the players play with. That said it's all level in games and points here. It's tied up in their first ever WTT encounter. And gets the powerful shot in to finish. Block one on the parallel gets a passive shot from Kanuk. And then the big backhand there. Three in a row for Ugo. Kanuk looking to take back control. I think it just took a moment to recover from the exhausting rally. Tugs the shirt and then he goes oh right I gotta celebrate this. It's a good reminder sometimes you have little wins. It might be getting to bed on time. Might be finishing your vegetables. Who knows. In this case it was winning that point. Taking that moment to celebrate reminds you that you've done something worth celebrating that you're capable. It's an upward spiral the encouragement even in the way you talk to yourself. It's easy to be critical. Most of us are. Six points apiece. The angle goes wide after playing it right into the middle. Front two points in a row and a timeout on Ugo's side now. Down by one. Big point for Gunnick right out of his opponent's timeout. There was some talk about staying on the forehand in the rally. Just making sure he's in position. Every point whether it's a silent celebration it's an important factor out here. The rituals that these players have whatever it takes to stay confident to stay positive and come into the point feeling like you're gonna do this. After the soft hands how many patient points have we seen? Percentage wise coming into this match in deciders 61% of the time Ugo wins in the decider 46 Gunnick wins. Their head-to-head is one for Gunnick and ten for Ugo Calderano yet here we are nine serving six in the final game. Doesn't miss by much but Ugo with the shot there on the move quick reaction and he gets back two big serves. If you're curious about serve percentage you're not alone. A two-handed backhand awaits and it stays here serve success Ugo Calderano one point closer two in a row and look at this it's been a receivers game. Ugo wins less than half although closer to two-fifths for Gunnick-Jaw on serve. Wow! So statistically Gunnick should win this point based on the percentages we just saw. Crazy block and that's up the statistics has two serves if he needs he only has to win one of the next two he's won 41% of the points he's served just over that. That means one for two is more likely than zero for two. 41.3 is way closer to 50 than it is to zero. He's got two match points to take over the best draw here the number one seed is in danger. Ugo saves the first one match point saved in a relatively extended rally considering the pressure. Parallel forehand you can see the nerves in the crowd the facial expressions all around. Second match point Gunnick-Jaw squirm in your seats hug your daddies Jeez Patient play and a 20-25 the top seed has been knocked out.