On March 20, WTT Singapore Grand Slam reached the final men's singles final, played by Ma Long against Fan Zhendong in the Battle of King Mountain.
In the semi-finals, Malone easily defeated Liang Jingkun 4-0. Veteran Malone is still in very good shape. Fan Zhendong defeated Japan's Yukiya Utada 4-2. Yukiya Utada played well and put a lot of pressure on Fan Zhendong. Fan Zhendong also admired the Japanese young general and asked the audience to applaud Yukiya Utada.
Ma Long and Fan Zhendong are old rivals. Both are great players in table tennis. Ma Long is the athlete who has won the most world championships in the world table tennis world and is a legend of active service. Fan Zhendong is the best male table tennis player today, and has long occupied the first position in the men's table tennis world. Ma Long's world ranking is also very high, most of the time behind Fan Zhendong, ranking second in the world.
Although Fan Zhendong has long been ranked first in the world and won many championships, he has lost more and won less against Malone, especially before it was difficult to win Malone. Ma Long became a mountain in front of Fan Zhendong. In the past two or three years, Fan Zhendong has only improved a little, and the chances of winning Malone are a little more. The historical record of the two against each other, Ma Long won 16 games, and Fan Zhendong won only 5 games.
However, in the important Tokyo Olympic Games, Ma Long still defeated Fan Zhendong to win the championship. This is the temperament of the champion. The hexagonal warrior Malone was like a sweeping monk, still very powerful and unfathomable. In the semifinals, Malone beat Liang Jingkun and couldn't find the north.
Fan Zhendong has been in very good form recently, winning the men's singles championship at last year's National Games, the men's singles championship at last year's World Table Tennis Championships, and the men's singles champion at the WTT World Cup.
In the end, Fan Zhendong was chased by Ma Long in three sets after winning two sets first. Fan Zhendong won two more sets to narrowly beat Malone 4-3.
Fan Zhendong entered the form quickly in the first set, making a 6:2 start and then winning the set point 10:4. Although Malone scored two consecutive points to narrow the gap, Fan Zhendong still won the first set 11:6.
In the second set, Malone made a 3-1 start, and Fan Zhendong scored 7 consecutive points to overtake Malone 8:4. Fan Zhendong's state is really hot. He continued to work hard to win another set with the same 11:6.
Malone took the lead in the third inning. At 6:5 Malone scored three straight points to open up the deficit and pulled back an inning at 11-6.
In the fourth set, Malone made a 4:1 start and was chased by Fan Zhendong to 7 draws. In the 9th draw, Malone scored two consecutive points to win another set 11:9, and the big score was 2-2. The race went into a white-hot pitch.
Fan Zhendong made a 3-1 start in the fifth set, and at 6:4 Malone scored four consecutive points to win the lead. Fan Zhendong fought to stop the decadence, and Malone called a pause. This pause worked. Malone scored two consecutive points to earn set points. Fan Zhendong sent a high-quality ball, and Malone did not receive the ball. However, Malone played a side ball and won the set 11-8. Malone pulled three innings in a row.
In the sixth inning, Malone was imposing and took a 3-0 lead. Fan Zhendong called a pause. Malone scored another point and cried out in delight. Fan Zhendong barely took 1 point. The score was behind, and Fan Zhendong was also anxious. Malone scored two more points to give a 6-1 lead. Falling behind by the big score, Fan Zhendong let go instead. Fan Zhendong scored 5 consecutive points to chase 6 draws. However, at the crucial moment, Fan Zhendong ate the serve, and the score became 6:7. Fan Zhendong was slightly behind. Malone took an 8-7 lead, and Fan Zhendong scored four consecutive points to win back a set at 11:8, making the big score battle 3-3. The two sides entered the decider.
In the seventh inning, Malone's physical exertion was too great, the quality of the shot was reduced, and the forehand shooting rate was reduced. Fan Zhendong won the set 11:7. In the end, Fan Zhendong narrowly defeated Ma Long 4-3 to win the first Grand Slam championship of WTT Singapore.
After Ma Long's victory over Liang Jingkun in the semifinals, he was interviewed after the game and answered questions in English throughout the game. As for why it is in English, Malone answered.
Malone replied in English: "The manager at WTT told me to give an interview in English if I win the championship. I think the final is very difficult, and I may not have a chance to say it, so I will talk about it today. ”
Unexpectedly, Malone's words were unfortunately right. He really lost to Fan Zhendong and didn't have a chance to be interviewed.