China's Ma Long overcame Belarus' Vladimir Samsonov in the men's singles final at the ITTF Berlin Open ©ITTF

China’s Ma Long completed the defence of his men’s singles title at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Berlin Open after overcoming Belarus’ Vladimir Samsonov in the final.

Having earlier defeated compatriot Zhang Jike in the semi-finals, world number one Ma beat the 39-year-old Samsonov 11-7, 11-6, 11-4, 10-12, 11-5.

Victory secured Ma his 25th ITTF World Tour singles crown and moved him a step closer to Samsonov's record of 27 singles title, which includes one from the 2005 German Open.

"It was not that easy to win this final," said 27-year-old Ma, who dropped just one game throughout the entire tournament.   

"I don't have a great winning record against Vladi, so I had to prepare more.

"But I'm really happy to defend my title, and keep playing well on the World Tour."

There was further success for China in the women’s singles final as Wu Yang got the better of Japanese second seed Kasumi Ishikawa.

The Chinese’s consistency in returning every point ensured her an 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 win, despite Ishikawa’s best efforts.  

China's Wu Yang got the better of Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa in the women's singles final
China's Wu Yang got the better of Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa in the women's singles final ©ITTF/Rémy Gros

"It's a great feeling to win the first World Tour Super Series of the year," said Wu, who beat team-mate Hu Limei in the semi-finals.

"Both of us are in good form and played a fantastic match.

"I was a bit conservative when I was leading, which caused the loss in the third game.

"However, I overcame the problems and won the final."

Despite having the German home crowd behind them, Han Ying and Irene Ivancan could not stand up to South Korean top seeds Jeon Jihee and Yang Ha-eun in the women’s doubles final.

The duo, who also clinched the Hungarian Open title last week, won 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 to maintain their perfect World Tour record this year.

In the last final of the day, the men’s doubles, Masataka Morizono and Yuya Oshima of Japan faced Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Tan Peng.

The Japanese pair, who were victorious at the 2015 World Tour Grand Finals, took the match 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-2.

With the first of six ITTF World Tour Super Series events completed, players will now put their race to the year-end ITTF World Tour Grand Finals on hold as they prepare for the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships.

The event is scheduled to take place in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur from February 28 to March 6.