On April 21, the WTT Macau Championship ended with eight 1/4 finals, which match impressed everyone the most?
Divide these eight 1/4 final results into 3 categories:
As expected: Wang Manyu defeated Qian Tianyi 3-1, Zhang Benzhihe beat Dako 3-1, Wang Yidi beat Zheng Yijing 3-0, Wang Chuqin narrowly beat Zhang Yuzhen 3-2, Sun Yingsha beat Sizokos 3-0.
Reasonably, it was unexpected: Chen Meng swept Hina Hayata 3-0, and Malone beat Hugo Calderano 3-0.
Chen Meng and Ma Long's victory over their respective opponents can be expected, but the clean sheet opponent still surprised everyone.
Because they have both played against their opponents recently, Chen Meng and Ma Long have lost a game or two against their respective opponents. I thought they would have a bigger challenge this time, but they all played well and didn't give their opponents any chance to fight back.
Biggest upset: Fan Zhendong lost 2-3 to Alex Lebrun.
This is something that everyone did not dare to imagine before the game.
Unfortunately, it is true
When I analyzed the situation in the 1/4 final last night, the Macau Championship Tournament on April 21 quarterfinals: 1 civil war + 6 foreign battles, Fan Zhendong needs to pay attention to one point, specially emphasized that Fan Zhendong must master the rhythm of the game, but unfortunately, Fan Zhendong was still "crooked" by Alex.
For Fan Zhendong, except for the fourth and first half of the fifth game, most of the rest of the game was in a "out of control" state, and Fan Zhendong was brought into a fast-paced game by his opponent, losing points quickly.
In the first game, Fan Zhendong lost 7 consecutive points after 7-4, and was reversed 7-11.
In the second game, Fan Zhendong started with 0-4 behind, and when he was 1-6 behind, he scored seven consecutive points and finally won the second game 11-8.
But at the end of the first game and the beginning of the second game, they added up to 11 consecutive points, which was not decent enough for world number one Fan Zhendong to lose, and it was a bit ugly.
In the third game, Fan Zhendong started 0-3 behind, lost 5 points in a row at 3-5, and finally Fan Zhendong lost another game 5-11.
In the fourth game, Fan Zhendong quickly pulled back Yicheng 11-5, and the big score was 2-2.
In the tiebreaker, the 7-3 lead lost four points in a row, the score was tied, and the final 9-11 lost by two points.
In the end, Fan Zhendong defeated Alex 2-3 and missed the men's singles semifinals of the Macao Championship.
This is not the first time this year that we have lost a "foreign war"
Fan Zhendong started from last year's Chengdu Team World Table Tennis Championships, as of this competition, how many foreign battles have he lost?
1. Chengdu Team World Table Tennis Championships semifinals: Fan Zhendong lost to Zhang Benzhihe 2-3.
2. 2022 WTT Xinxiang World Cup Finals: Fan Zhendong lost 2-3 to Ochalov and missed the semifinals.
3. 2023 WTT Goa Star Challenge: Fan Zhendong lost to Zhao Dacheng 2-3 and suffered a round of travel.
4. 2023 WTT Macau Championship: Fan Zhendong lost 2-3 to Alex Lebrun, missing the semifinals.
As for the "civil war" losing Wang Chuqin (3-4), Ping Chao losing Lin Gaoyuan (2-3), let's not say.
Fan Zhendong's bottom line of loss is very high, and he basically loses only in the tiebreaker.
Even when he's not in good shape, he can make it to the end.
So some netizens said that Fan Zhendong's skills are not hard, which is not right.
Why does Fan Zhendong always lose in the tiebreaker?
Fan Zhendong's style of play determines that his stability cannot surpass Ma Long.
Ma Long has set a terrifying record of "51 consecutive wins" in the international arena, and the "big devil" Zhang Yining's winning streak record is only 39 games, which is only equivalent to 3/4 of Ma Long.
Fan Zhendong is a violent type of play.
Violence means speed and power, which is a "double-edged sword". Speed and strength can help players penetrate the opponent's defense, but at the same time take on more mistakes and greater risks.
This "sword" makes it good, can kill the enemy, makes it bad, and may hurt itself.
Malone is a well-rounded style of play.
It is fully embodied in: rich and delicate techniques and tactics, balanced forehand and backhand and smooth connection, and few unnecessary mistakes during the game.
Liu Guoliang once talked about Fan Zhendong and Ma Long when commenting on the game, he said: Ma Long and Fan Zhendong are very strong, but they have completely different systems. Marlon is using the binding mode to tie the opponent to death, or it can be loosened and tightened, all in Ma Long's hand.
Fan Zhendong's head coach, from Wu Jingping before, Wang Hao later, to Liu Heng now, his playing style has been much softer in recent years, and his techniques and tactics have been enriched a lot.
When playing well, Fan Zhendong is rigid and soft, no one can play, refer to the WTT Singapore Grand Slam final 4-1 victory over Ma Long. But when he encountered a challenge, Fan Zhendong was a little overwhelmed, his serve and attack were calculated by the opponent, and he put it short and off the net, just like losing 11 points in this game, no matter how he played, he lost points. Fan Zhendong has not been able to integrate the two types of violent and comprehensive play, and he is almost on fire.
How did Fan Zhendong win the tiebreaker?
The game was fought to the tiebreaker, and there were only 11 points in the tiebreaker (of course, at least 2 points were won after a 10-10 draw), and at this time it was already a "bayonet to red" white blade battle. There are not so many twists and turns, there is only one point to fight, that is, who dares to start, who starts first, and how to do it specifically? Two words - fighting.
By the tiebreaker, you are no longer in control of the game, and the only thing you can possibly control is yourself. Instead of playing short and competing with the opponent for the ball, it is better to "strike first" and take your fate into your own hands, even if you make an offensive mistake, there is no regret.
Your own serve wheel directly serves and grabs, and the opponent's serve wheel has the opportunity to decisively catch and twist the serve. Whoever is conservative loses half first, at least psychologically has already lost to the opponent.
Review the 2 key serve rounds of the tiebreaker of this match
Fan Zhendong led 7-3 in the tiebreaker at one point, and after serving the ball was shortened into the net, 7-4. At this time, his mentality was already a little strained, and he kept muttering to himself.
Coach Wang Hao called a timeout, which should also encourage him to take the lead, because Fan Zhendong did not make any changes when he returned to the arena.
Fan Zhendong probably thought he was ahead of the score and could control the rhythm, so he continued to choose a decent style of play, served to the middle forehand, and then played with his opponent, but as a result, he made a mistake with his forehand, 7-5.
Let's look at how Alex mastered his serve: Alex served a backhand and a long ball, and Fan Zhendong made a direct mistake on the serve, 7-6.
Alex served to the middle forehand, let Fan Zhendong twist, and then used the backhand to quickly tear the big slash to score, 7-7. It's all a desperate way of playing.
Who is determined? Who is weak-hearted? Glance.
As for Alex's victory in the end, it was just the result of the whole process.
On the other hand, in the Xinxiang championship match, Fan Zhendong narrowly defeated Lin Zhongxun 4-3 and played a full 7 games with Lin Zhongxun, because Fan Zhendong was not in good condition? This statement was bad, Fan Zhendong played very aggressively in the decisive game, and took the initiative to use "fighting" to suppress the opponent's fighting. There is no overboard, there is a chance to immediately afterburner, there is a chance to change lines immediately, and the multi-shot round of the two does not exceed 5 boards. In the end, Fan Zhendong won the final game 11-9.
Fan Zhendong played two tiebreakers, both of which were 11-9, but the result was one win and one loss.
Xinxiang Champion Fan Zhendong was chased 3-3 with a 3-1 lead, knowing that he had to break the cauldron and sink the boat, so he chose to take the initiative to "fight" without hesitation.
But in this game, Fan Zhendong fell behind twice and tied twice, and the tiebreaker was still 7-3 ahead, you told him to let go of the hand and fight, will he feel a little too "aggressive"?
But at this time, Alex's situation was a bit similar to that of Fan Zhendong in the Xinxiang Championship, who led twice and was equalized, and the tiebreaker was still behind, and there was no way back only to fight, so in the end he won.
There is a saying called "the brave wins when the narrow road meets", which perfectly interprets the connotation.
Therefore, in the future, when the game reached the tiebreaker, there was only one suggestion for Fan Zhendong, that is, to "fight violence with violence" and fight decisively. Violent playing style is Fan Zhendong's "Tong Zigong", and it is also his most confident tactic, not to use at critical moments, but when?