World No. three Ma Long of China failed to reach the final of the 29th table tennis men's World Cup after losing to Germany's Timo Boll in a seven-set thriller.

Boll will square off against another Chinese Wang Hao, the world's No. one in the final later Sunday. Wang outclassed Greece's Kalinikos Kreanga 4-2 in the other semifinal.

Ma surrendered the opening set by 11-7 before drawing level by taking the second set 11-8.

Boll regained the lead twice thereafter but a tenacious Ma evened on both occasions.

To the cheers of local fans, Boll won the decisive set 11-6 to book a berth in the final.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2008)