At 2:15 p.m. on January 20, the second matchday of the "WTT Macau Champions 2021 China Star" ushered in a focus battle: since last year's National Games, Liu Shiwen returned to the field in her first round against wang Yidi, a national table tennis champion. This competition can be described as a strong showdown between two generations of national table tennis players.
Although the two are teammates, the last time they fought back to two years ago, the first battle of the new year is the deer who died, which is particularly interesting. In the first set, Liu Shiwen disrupted Wang Yidi's rhythm with a fast attack from near Taiwan, and took a 6-1 start lead. Wang Yidi faced the backward score, did not have impatience, and in the case of trying to control the first three boards, he exerted his strength in the stalemate stage and chased the score to 4-6. Liu Shiwen strengthened the rhythm control to avoid too much entanglement with Wang Yidi, taking the first set point 10-5 and winning the opening red at 11-6.
In the second set, Wang Yidi frequently launched attacks on Liu Shiwen's backhand position in the opening stage, and the tactics worked, leading the score 5-1. The subsequent shot was more firm, and also widened the score gap to 9-3, taking the lead 10-3 to get the set point. In the face of a huge gap in the score, Liu Shiwen showed the tenacity of the veteran, chasing 5 points in a row to 8-10. Wang Yidi called a timeout for himself, and after the suspension, Liu Shiwen chased 2 points in a row to chase the score to 10 draws. But Wang Yidi readjusted his form and eventually won the set back 12-10.
In the third set, the two sides began to fall into a tangled stage, and the score alternately rose to 3 draws. Wang Yidi's ability to hold the stage was demonstrated, maintaining a two-point lead to 7-5. Liu Shiwen took advantage of the serve wheel to chase 2 points in a row, and the two sides fought again to 7 draws. Subsequently, Liu Shiwen strengthened the change of the landing point, 9-7 to overtake the score. Snatching 2 points from the opponent's serve wheel also enhanced Liu Shiwen's momentum, 10-7 to take the lead to get the set point, at this moment, Wang Yidi did not give up lightly, chasing the score to 9-10, Liu Shiwen requested a timeout. After the timeout, Liu Shiwen made a mistake in returning the ball, and the two sides fought to a 10-draw draw. In the handling of key points, Liu Shiwen was obviously more mature, winning the game 13-11.
In the fourth set, after 3 draws, Liu Shiwen temporarily led 6-3 with a more accurate prediction. The situation of 2-1 leading the big score also made Liu Shiwen more determined. But Wang Yidi was also actively seeking changes, adjusting the rhythm of the attack to play an effect, reversing the score 9-7 and taking the set point 10-7 first. In the face of Wang Yidi's strong counterattack, Liu Shiwen adjusted her tactics in time to chase the score to 10 draws. In the end, Liu Shiwen won the final victory 14-12 and successfully advanced to the women's singles quarterfinals.