The world’s top two players, Liu Shiwen and Ding Ning, had to fight hard to set up a third consecutive final in the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, while France’s Simon Gauzy and Singapore’s Lin Ye were crowned Under-21 champions at Al Nasr Leisureland on Friday.

Liu dropped her first-ever sets to Belarusian counterpuncher Viktoria Pavlovich en route to a 4-2 semifinal victory while Ding needed a decisive set to take out her compatriot and reigning Olympic champion Li Xiaoxia 4-3.

In a battle between offence and defence, Liu, the two-time defending champion, survived a frustrating duel with Pavlovich, who sliced back every ball and relied heavily on defence to force her opponent into committing errors.

The Belarusian took a surprising lead, taking the first set 11-8, before Liu struck back, winning three straight sets for a 3-1 lead. But Pavlovich continued with her strategy and it paid off once again as a net error from Liu gave the fifth set to her opponent.

Liu had to save two set points in the sixth game before booking her place in the final – 8-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10.

“I know Viktoria very well and she’s a very defensive player. This time was the best she’s ever played me, which surprised me but I’m happy with the result,” Liu told Sport360° after the match.

Looking ahead to the final, she added: “Ding and I play at a very close level and the last time we played she beat me, so tomorrow we’ll see who can perform better on the day.”

The earlier semi-final – a repeat of the Olympics final in London 2012 – saw Ding take a comfortable 2-0 lead before Xiaoxia clawed her way back into the match levelling at 3-3.

But the world No2 stormed back taking the seventh set 11-3 to advance to today’s final.

“I’m very happy to be in the final of this tournament for the fourth time, it’s a very good chance to finally win this title,” said Ding.

The Under-21 Boys’ Singles final was an all-European affair as Gauzy defeated Germany’s Patrick Franziska, who had beaten the Frenchman the day before in the group stages.

Gauzy avenged his defeat with a hard-fourth 4-2 win to take home the title. “Today was fantastic,” said Gauzy. “I lost to him five times in a row. It’s very hard to beat him, he’s one of the top-14 in the world, he’s kind of the new hope for European table tennis.”

On keeping Asia out of the final, Gauzy said: “I think this is a very good sign because in France we have some good young players, in Europe we have Patrick, and also Liam Pitchford from England.”

The Under-21 Girls’ Singles final saw Singapore’s Lin Ye halt an attempted comeback from Hong Kong’s NG Wing Nam to take the title 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6.