WTT Singapore Grand Slam, Men's Singles Quarterfinals: Fan Zhendong vs Ahn Jae Hyun
As the world's first, Fan Zhendong must face the impact of any opponent. Fan Zhendong, who is not in the best condition, wants to win the game, and it is not easy.
In the first set, Fan Zhendong easily won the first set 11-4.
In the second set, Ahn Jae-hyun was in a very high state, every ball must be contested, and there was a scoring luck ball on the net, leading 6-1.
Fan Zhendong had to chase point by point, 7-2, 8-4. Ahn Jae-hyun scored consecutive sideways to win the set point 10-4 and eventually pulled back an inning 11-6, with the two sides fighting 1-1.
In the third set, Fan Zhendong started 4-0 and was chased by his opponent for 2 consecutive points. Ahn Jae-hyun continued to speed up, Fan Zhendong was a little distracted, was chased to a 6-6 draw, and was overtaken by the opponent 8-6, and even 10-7 to get the set point. After losing 2 consecutive innings, Ahn Jae-hyun requested a timeout.
Fan Zhendong received the serve and no longer blindly twisted and pulled, but picked the opponent's forehand position, and Fan Zhendong chased to a 10-10 draw. Ahn Jae-hyun scored on the net to get the set point again at 11-10. Fan Zhendong received the ball and twisted the ball to tie the score again, 11-11. Ahn Jae-hyun won another set 13-11 to give a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, Fan Zhendong started 4-0 again, this time without letting the opponent gain momentum, 7-1 to extend the lead.
Fan Zhendong made a mistake in receiving the serve, was chased by the opponent for 2 points, the opponent wiped the tennis ball and scored again, Fan Zhendong won the set point 10-4, 11-5 to win a set, the two sides fought 2:2.
Fan Zhendong made a change in the choice of the landing point of the serve in this round, not to make the opponent tear up so comfortably, and then use his own high-quality return ball to penetrate the opponent.
In the decider, Fan Zhendong took the lead in serving, the opponent received a direct serve out of bounds, a return ball quality is not high, Fan Zhendong took the lead in attacking and scoring; Fan Zhendong received the serve and scored 2 points, and it was a 4-0 start.
Ahn Jae-hyun's feel and luck ran out in the first few innings, and there were a bit many mistakes in the standoff. Fan Zhendong led 7-1. After losing 2 points in a row, Fan Zhendong took the initiative to choose to call a timeout.
After the timeout, it was Ahn Jae-hyun's serve wheel, and his backhand quickly tore again, chasing the score to 6-7. Fan Zhendong withstood the pressure, scored consecutive points with more beats, led 9-6, won the match point 10-7, and finally won the last set 11-7, narrowly won the opponent by a large score of 3:2, advanced to the quarterfinals, and congratulated him.
Of course, through the recent singles matches, we can also see that Fan Zhendong is not in the best state and seems to be more tired. But being able to stabilize in case of adversity is more able to exercise your "big heart".