On March 11, in the first round of the men's singles of WTT Singapore Grand Slam, Malone defeated Portugal's Freitas 3-1 to advance to the round of 32. In this game, Malone played strong in the first set, and the second set was greatly tested, and he lost 5-11. Malone then actively adjusted and successfully won the victory.
In the first set, Freitas chose to grab the opening tactics, but there were too many mistakes, and Malone's attack was like a broken bamboo, leading 5-0. Freitas scored two consecutive points, and Malone showed good form in the standoff, coupled with the opponent's mistakes, so soon Malone opened the score gap. In this set, Malone won 11-5, which was relatively easy.
In the second set, Malone scored two consecutive points, and Freitas took advantage of the change of line and Malone's mistakes to tie the score. Freitas then counted Malone's attack to take the lead for the first time, 4-3. Malone made too many mistakes, trailing 3-7. Freitas's morale was boosted, and the matchmaking was able to stabilize the situation and score points. In this inning, Malone made it 5-11 to Freitas.
In the third set, Freitas's mentality clearly changed, and there was some hurry, Malone seized the opportunity to take a 3-1 lead, and then continued to extend the advantage to 8-2. Malone showed his side of stability, winning 11-3 to regain a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, after a 2-2 draw, Malone was forced to take a 7-4 lead and Freitas was forced to pause. Malone withstood the pressure and won the set 11-5, so that Malone defeated his opponent 3-1 and successfully advanced to the men's singles round of 32.
Malone's overall performance in the last year has been good, achieving a double and a double grand slam at the Tokyo Olympics, and is also the first athlete in history to win a gold medal in the men's singles of the Olympic Games. Returning to China to participate in the National Games and the Table Tennis Super League, although Ma Long did not win the championship, he still reflected a good state. Because a young player gave way, Malone gave up participating in the World Table Tennis Championships. In the WTT Macau Championship in January 2022, Ma Long missed the final four and was eliminated by Wang Chuqin.
So after coming to Singapore this time, Ma Long's fighting spirit is still very strong, although he is a veteran of fame, but in terms of strength and overall state, Ma Long still has the hope of winning the championship, especially in his half area without Fan Zhendong, as the captain of the national table tennis team Ma Long also shoulders the heavy responsibility of defending the lower half of the district.
I also hope that the next Malone can have good luck and strive to achieve good results at the WTT Singapore Grand Slam, according to Malone's words, he hopes to stick to another National Games cycle, so he is also looking forward to the performance of the veteran.