On March 13, Beijing time, the WTT Singapore Grand Slam continued. In a highly watched second round of men's singles matches, China veteran Ma Long faced his old rival Aruna and played slightly thrillingly, eventually beating his opponent 3-1 to advance to the round of 16. Malone's opponent in the quarter-finals will be teammate Wang Chuqin, who earlier swept Britain's Pitcheford 3-0.
The first round of the men's singles schedule ended, and a number of big cold goals broke out. In terms of Chinese players, Lin Gaoyuan lost 0-3 to South Korea's Lin Zhongxun, and Xiang Peng, who broke through in the qualifying round, also lost 0-3 to Denmark's Jonathan. In addition, The Japanese talented teenager Zhang Benzhihe also broke out of the cold, losing to the American players to encounter a round of travel.
Malone faced Portugal's Marcos in the first round and won easily 3-1. He faced Aruna, a veteran from Nigeria, Africa. Aruna has long held the position of a brother in Africa, and he and Malone staged a wonderful duel at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Six years later, both are veterans.
In the first set, Malone quickly gained the upper hand and quickly took a 7-1 lead. Without suspense, Malone took the lead 11-4 to win the first set.
In the second set, Aruna gradually improved his form and took a 5-2 lead at the start. Malone had problems adapting to their opponent's ball path, with Aruna scoring consecutive points to return an inning 11-5.
In the third set, the two began to play very stiffly, but after the middle set, Malone gradually began to gain the advantage, and then won the third set 11-6.
In the fourth set, the two sides still played fiercely, and the score came to a 6-6 draw. After that, the two fought all the way to 9 draws. Malone played very well in the crucial moments, and then scored 2 consecutive points to win 11-9 and advance 3-1.