2022 WTT Singapore Grand Slam, Men's Singles Quarterfinals: Qiu Dang vs Yukiya Utada
Qiu Dang is 25 years old and ranked 41st in the world; Yukiya Utada is 20 years old and ranked 49th in the world. Previously, the two sides had met 3 times, and the Qiu Party had all won.
In the first set, Qiu Dang 2-0, 2-3, 3-5, 5-5, 5-7, 8-7, 8-10 (Umada 2 innings), 11-10 (innings), 12-11 (2nd innings), 13-11 to win the first set.
In the second set, Utada 3-0, 3-3, 6-3, 8-5, 10-6 (set point), 11-7 pulled back the set, the two sides fought 1:1.
In the third set, Qiu Dang won another set 0-3, 5-3, 5-6, 10-7 (set points), 11-9 and a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, Umada 0-2, 3-2, 6-3, 8-4, 10-5 (set point), 11-5 quick victory, the two sides battled 2:2.
In the decider, Utada led 5-1. The two sides exchange venues.
Qiu Dang's serve was not strict, losing 2 serving rounds in a row, causing himself to be very passive.
Utada kept the lead 6-1, 7-2 and decisively called a timeout after being chased for 2 points, 7-4.
After the timeout, Qiu Dang conceded 3 points in a row, and Utada held 6 match points 10-4, victory was in sight, and finally won the last set 11-6, narrowly defeating the opponent by a large score of 3:2 to advance to the men's singles final four. Whether Utada Yukiya plays as a whole or is only 20 years old, he is undoubtedly the "big dark horse" of this Grand Slam event.
Qiu Dang started slower at the beginning of each inning, and two of the first four innings were lucky to pull back, and each game only won 2 points, so it is not surprising that the decider fell behind and led to the final collapse.
Yukiya Utada in the Japanese table tennis men's team, there is a momentum to counterattack Zhang Benzhihe. Whether in the domestic arena or in the international arena, it is more stable than Zhang Benzhihe. Although the gap in the world ranking is still relatively large, I believe that their ranking will soon be close, and it is more reasonable to rank in 10-20.