Against Taipei's Lin Xiaoru, Ma Long played a beautiful turnaround battle, not only because of the reversal of promotion, but also because of successful revenge. You know, although Ma Long is a national table tennis brother and a double circle Grand Slam winner, he has lost to Lin Xiaoru in the past few years. Now he finally took revenge in iron blood and let out a vicious breath.
A focus battle in the men's singles quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, with China's Ma Long facing Chinese Taipei's Lin Xiaoru. At present, Malone is ranked No. 2 in the world and is the second seed of the tournament, while the opponent is ranked no. 7 in the world and is the No. 6 seed of the tournament.
Previously, Malone beat Freitas 3-1, 3-1 against Aruna and 3-2 against teammate Wang Chuqin, while Lin Xiaoru beat Ole 3-0, Galkini 3-0 and Dako. In terms of past battle results, the two have won 2 games each. However, Malone has suffered a losing streak in the last two encounters. Perhaps it is precisely because of the psychological advantage that Lin Xiaoru grabbed the start as soon as he came up.
In the first set, Lin Xiaoru came up with a 4-0 lead. In the face of the opponent's sharp attack, Malone was difficult to adapt to for a while, and was quickly pulled apart by the score, coupled with the low quality of the serve, and lost 5-11 first. In the second set, Lin Xiaoru scored first. But Malone immediately adjusted his form, took the initiative to start, and then improved the quality of the snowboard, accelerated the offensive connection, and added a change in serve to win a set 11-6.
In the 3rd inning, Malone, who had adapted to the opponent's speed, entered the state in all directions, taking a 2-0 lead and then pulling the score 6-1. The other party made consecutive mistakes, shook his head with a bitter smile, and finally made 2 consecutive mistakes to take the initiative to let go of this round. Malone scored 2-1.
In the 4th set, Lin Xiaoru suddenly picked up speed after the opening 0-3, and after Malone pulled back 2 points, the opponent immediately suspended. After the suspension, Lin Xiaoru changed his playing style, no longer entangled with Ma Long on the first three boards, but directly pulled. The score between the two sides has not been pulled apart. At the crucial moment, Malone was a little impatient, conceding consecutive points and losing the set 9-11.
In the decider, Malone started with a 2-0 lead and reversed the score to 3-2 through changes in the drop point. Subsequently, he started decisively in the process of pulling, leading consecutively, but the opponent also quickly adapted to Malone's playing style, chasing the score to 5-6. At the critical moment, Qin Zhijian paused. After the suspension, Malone was more decisive and in better shape, and finally won 11-7 to advance to the final four. Malone's semi-final opponent is teammate Liang Jingkun.
Perhaps it was the huge pressure of the previous losing streak, and after getting the last point to ensure the victory, Malone roared madly and vented his inner emotions. In an interview after the game, Ma Long admitted that he had lost the other side several times before, so this time he made full preparations for Lin Xiaoru. I look forward to Malone's better performance in the future.