On March 20, Beijing time, the WTT Singapore Grand Slam men's singles final began to compete, against Ma Long and Fan Zhendong. The two have met 21 times in international competitions before, with Malone having the upper hand with 16 wins and 5 losses. However, in the past 5 duels between the two sides, Fan Zhendong has won 3 times.
In today's match, the two sides fought fiercely for seven sets, Fan Zhendong withstood the pressure in the decider, and finally defeated teammate Ma Long 4-3 (11-6/11-6/6-6-6-9-11/8-11/11-11/11-8/11-7) to win the men's singles championship of the tournament.
In the first game, Fan Zhendong entered the state faster and established the lead early. Fan Zhendong continued to extend his lead in the middle, taking 6 innings 10-4. Malone saved two innings and Fan Zhendong won the first set 11-6.
In the second set, Fan Zhendong began to exert his strength after 3 draws, and after scoring 5 consecutive points, he opened the point difference, and 10-4 Fan Zhendong won the second set point. Malone chased two points in a row, but then Fan Zhendong scored another point to make it 11-6 in the next set.
In the third set, Malone started slightly better, and Fan Zhendong struggled to catch up in the middle, at one point chasing only 1 point. Malone scored three straight points after 6-5 and a four-point advantage at 9-5. After Fan Zhendong chased 6-9, Malone scored two more points to win the third set 11-6.
In the fourth set, Malone started with a 4-1 lead, Fan Zhendong chased down 3-4, after which Malone extended the advantage to 7-4, and then Fan Zhendong scored 4 consecutive points to 8-7 to win. The two sides reached a stalemate on the field at the end of the set, and after nine draws, Malone scored two consecutive points to win the fourth set 11-9.
In the fifth set, Fan Zhendong opened with a 3-1 lead, Malone chased down to a 3-3 draw, Fan Zhendong opened a two-point gap again 6-4, and Malone scored 4 consecutive points to 8-6 to win. Fan Zhendong chased 7-8, and Malone asked for a timeout. After the timeout, Malone scored 2 consecutive points to get the set point. Malone swept the ball away at the second inning point to win the fifth set 11-8.
In the sixth inning, Malone started with a 3-0 lead and Fan Zhendong asked for a timeout. After the timeout, Malone extended his advantage to 6-1. Fan Zhendong chased five consecutive points to 6-6, after which the two fell into a stalemate, Fan Zhendong scored four consecutive points after 7-8 to win the sixth game 11-8.
Fan Zhendong started with a 4-1 lead in the decider, and Malone chased down to 3-4, but after that Fan Zhendong scored another 3 points to open the gap 7-3. After that, Fan Zhendong continued to work hard, winning the championship point 10-6. Malone defused the first championship point, and Fan Zhendong won the decider 11-7.