FULL MATCH | Jonathan Groth vs Tomokazu Harimoto | MS R32 | #WTTFrankfurt 2025

First point goes the way of the day and Tomokazu Aramata does get involved in tumultuous matches. Just look back to that incredible defeat to Alexis LeBrun in Montpellier, going down 12-10 in the fifth in that one. And it was quite the match against Dang Chou, the eventual winner in WTD Style Contender London 2. And there he's up and running. Chou lays away. The noise comes from Tomokazu. And when he's noisy, he invariably does well. So Maria, tell us about what Jonathan Krutz has to do to just slow down the Japanese player, just take some of that wind out of his sails. Well, definitely there we saw Harimoto's two services proving extra challenging there, but Jonathan Krutz can use his services and use that left-hand advantage that he has and that forehand angle that he can generate to kind of... You never know if those ones are going to come on. They're going to be spectacular, just a bit of fortune there for Harimoto going around the net. Where's the low down on it? Yeah, because they can be really dangerous from under the table. Yeah, they often roll across the table as well and there's no chance of getting them back. Just wasn't there, just died on Grote and it's a strong start by the Japanese here. Yeah, Harimoto really using his service to his advantage there. And he's just telling himself to calm down a little bit. He came in with that super flat flick on the forehand that we know that he's well known for and he tried to snatch that backhand. He's just telling himself to give himself an extra few seconds and as we saw on that point, he did give himself an extra few milliseconds to hit that ball. A little apology there, just a little flick of the net there to push him into a four-point advantage, a four-point advantage in the first. Grote here hit a lovely, lovely backhand open up there. He tried to do it again, take half a step away from the table, give himself that extra room to just go for it. Slightly unlucky there. Well, Harimoto is really going for it, especially off his serve. You can see he's got real intention behind what he's doing there and there he bends down, generates a lot of spin. He goes for that spinny one and follows it up with a little bit extra power. And he's getting this done in a hurry in the first game is Harimoto. That just slows him down a little bit but there's still a five-point cushion here. Just really built as much as anything on the fact that Grote looks determined to go for his shots. He's very expansive, missed as many as he's made. Nine-five. And Grote doesn't look fazed at all by this opening game. He's saying, okay, I've got my shots and I can play them. And he doesn't look too fazed by Harimoto's sort of jubilant behavior. Exuberant. Exuberant, that's the word, not jubilant. It could be jubilant. He's jubilant now and there he is because he's just earned himself five game points. Some say that he can be a little bit predictable. Predictably good, you might say, and that maybe is why Grote is going for it. Cool. And spin some. If you're staring at game points, what better way to do it than just go for it? Yeah, lovely little fiery exchange there and that is what Grote is very good at. He's very good at those sort of step away from the table kind of points. Eleven-six. Game to Harimoto. But that is what Harimoto is so good at. First point goes the way of Harimoto there. And he's a player that really thrives on momentum and he's got a chance now to build it in the second. There you go. He just lanced that backhand into the gap. Executed perfectly. You see Grote trying to get that little extra spin and Harimoto read it so perfectly. Used a little bit of extra wrist to garner that angle. Talking about angles then. Absolutely forcing the game back from the table. You can see there Grote's backhand is perfectly executed wide there but Harimoto just waiting for it. Three-one. That's the surprise really when he's this dialed in, Harimoto, when he does miss. You can see the admonition on the face there straight away but it's because he's playing so well at the moment. What a get. What a get. The first of those backhand returns. Just pure reflex and positioning. There. I was on my way to say what a great point by Jonathan Grote there but Harimoto held off so well and that's what they're so good at. Switching from offensive to defensive, you know, when someone's attacking them just say okay well look I'm just gonna hold the ball, make you play that extra shot and then see when I can get in. Harimoto is so good at that. He's so versatile across the table. Again another apology by Harimoto there. Clipped the edge of his bat or something. And when they get into those blazing exchanges, invariably you're going to see the man in blue emerging triumphant. He's just so compact. Harimoto used to serve so perfectly. Grote was not waiting for that. He reacted perfectly well. You can see there he was expecting it to come a bit shorter and he just held him off as well. If anything that's better than the one we saw from Harimoto a couple of points ago. Yeah, why not? Mr. Mernstein, coach Mernstein up and very happy with that. Great run of points for the Dane. He's very much arrived in this match now. He's got his coach on his feet, he's got the crowd's applause behind him and he's really put together three superbly constructed points. That's why he's so brilliant at turning around that corner and playing that forehand and getting that wide angle. Seven-five. Again the apology there. Yeah, I think that one clipped the net ever so slightly but it's a lovely little bit of short play from both of them and it was Grote who just said I'm going to push you out long and it was a great execution of that long push to Harimoto's backhand. And a big point then because Grote had a bit of momentum to his game there. He steps into the table and when he does so he's so dangerous because he's always all in, fully committed. And what Harimoto did well there again a little bit reverse of the last previous point. Short, short and he dug out long. Grote wasn't waiting for it and had to push back and he catalyzed on it. Really good adjustment from the Japanese there as well. What I have noticed is that Harimoto is really using his serve so effectively throughout this game. That is brilliant. It looked as if Grote had just caught him off guard there but he just found an angle. Ten-six. Ten-six. Still has four game points Harimoto for a two-game lead in this pacey men's singles round of 32 that's rushing along. Ten-seven. There was the chance. You can see the two-nil sign there and he's come over the top of the ball that little bit too hard snatching at it ever so slightly. Yeah the eyes lit up. Eleven-seven. But in a flurry of vocal encouragement. One-love. What does he have to do Maria? What's he got to get right? What's he got to stop about his Japanese opponent here? I think he's got to stop Harimoto getting in with those third balls and really using all that power. You can see that he executed that around the corner perfectly but it's just Harimoto sort of was predicting it and you can see he just blocks it there down the line. He was lying in wait. Perfectly done. And there's the expansive side to his game. It's hard to know really what anyone can do against that. I was just gonna say I'm not sure there is much you can do there when Harimoto's backhand is playing like that. The curve on the ball there as well that you could see on that replay. But I said he was a backhand dominated player but he's really really shown it in this game. That needs improving. One-four. But it doesn't happen straight away. Harimoto by the way should he win this one would take on a German. Either Dima Mitrovchirov or the precocious young wild card Andrei Bertelsmaier. Four-two. Five-two. It's been a privilege you know Maria to watch this guy in action this year. He was really outstanding in Las Vegas at the historic United States smash and then of course in those incredible scenes taking out Wong Chiu Chin who he'd lost to in Vegas. Taking him out to win the champions. A rush of blood just as we say that. But by and large Harimoto has been outstanding in 2025. Look at his face. Always love that you can see a little laughter, a little smile. He's enjoying himself while he's out there. Three-six. Why not? Why not? There are some that say at the elite level maybe he's a little bit predictable at times but he's getting all the shots out in this match isn't he? Six-four. That's lovely by Grot. Harimoto had done that a couple of points before. You know that half-long service make them spin it up get down so it's harder to recover and then straight over the top of the ball. Very well played. Seven-four. And the biggest problem really that Jonathan Grot has faced here is you've been able to string together any runs of points whatsoever. Yes every now and then he'll play an expansive shot and win but Harimoto shuts him down. Four and again there Harimoto if you just watch in the middle of that rally it goes to his his crossover and Jonathan Grot great placement but Harimoto there if you just watch he just goes okay I'm just gonna play that one back oh and now look you've opened up some of the side of the table that I can then go for and it's that offensive defensive that is just so so stellar. A little snake coming in there from the Dane. Well whatever works. The second little bit of trickery we've seen from Jonathan Grot that's gone his way. A chop block earlier on that Harimoto missed. Eight-six. And then that pacey bouncy serve he's got to try what he can got to disrupt Harimoto where possible. Time out. Nine-six. Yeah the big roar from Harimoto there we always say coming back from the time out and definitely didn't want Jonathan to get that next point and close that gap ever more. Would you listen to him he grunts on the drive he then celebrates and he gets himself within touching distance now of the round of 16. Four match points. Harimoto. Lead. Six-ten. And in contrast to Gilda who was pushed all the way in her match this has absolutely