The Chinese team suffered Waterloo
The 2024 Saudi Grand Slam will undoubtedly go down in the history of shame for the Chinese table tennis team. As the top seed, Fan Zhendong's exit is undoubtedly the biggest upset. In the men's singles 1/8 final with France, ranked 16th in the world, Fan Zhendong had an absolute advantage at the beginning and led 2:0. However, at this moment, his form suddenly took a serious dip. Francesca seized the opportunity to win three games in a row and defeated the Chinese first brother with an aggregate score of 3:2, a result that undoubtedly shocked and frustrated the Chinese fans at the scene.
Fan Zhendong's defeat was just the beginning of what happened to the Chinese team in this Grand Slam. Another main player, Chen Xingtong, in the match with teammate Qian Tianyi, unexpectedly lost with a total score of 0:3. Qian Tianyi played quite well in this civil war, leading the score in every game, and finally swept Chen Xingtong to advance to the round of 16. For the Chinese team, the two generals collapsed one after another at such an early stage, which is undoubtedly a heavy blow.
The top 8 and top 4 are produced
Despite the Waterloo of Fan Zhendong and Chen Xingtong, the rest of the Chinese team still had a great performance in this Grand Slam tournament. Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong, Zhao Dacheng and Zhang Yuzhen successfully advanced to the top 8 of men's singles. Among them, Zhang Yuzhen reached the top 4 and was only one step away from the finals. In women's singles, although Chen Xingtong has been out of the tournament in advance, Qian Tianyi and others still retained the top 8 seats for the Chinese team.
After entering the quarterfinals, Zhang Yuzhen defeated the world's No. 4 Swedish star Lebrun with a score of 3:1 in the quarterfinals, and this victory also allowed him to reach the men's singles semifinals. Zhang Yuzhen is currently the best hope for the Chinese team in this Grand Slam. Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong also reached the semi-finals, and the trio will face France's Francesca for two finals.
Causes and effects
The Waterloo of Fan Zhendong and Chen Xingtong undoubtedly put the entire Chinese team in a passive situation. As the top seed, Fan Zhendong originally had high hopes for winning the championship. And Chen Xingtong, as the top seed in the women's singles, is also a major loss to be out at such an early stage. The departure of the two will undoubtedly have a certain impact on the overall strength of the Chinese team.
Judging from the specific process of the game, Fan Zhendong's abnormality after taking a 2:0 lead is likely to be a mistake caused by inexperience. For such an important match, he may have let his guard down after taking the lead, and his opponent seized the opportunity to fight back. As for Chen Xingtong, her poor performance in the civil war with teammate Qian Tianyi may also be related to psychological pressure.
Despite the heavy losses, the Chinese team still has Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong and Zhang Yuzhen to reach the men's singles semifinals, which also reflects the overall depth of the Chinese team. After Fan Zhendong and Chen Xingtong were out, Wang Chuqin naturally became the backbone of the Chinese team. He will carry the hopes of the Chinese team in the next game and seek to break through the encirclement.
Another factor to watch out for is the outstanding performance of the foreign players in this Grand Slam. Francesca may not be ranked highly, but his tenacious fighting spirit is impressive. If he can finally reach the final, it will be a huge challenge for the Chinese team. The three semi-finalists of the Chinese team will have to deal with it extra carefully in the next matches.