On January 5, the second round of the WTT Men's Singles Year-end Finals ended, and the semi-finals were all released. There was a big upset in the game, Ma Long and Liang Jingkun both lost 2-3 and missed the semifinals. Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan, and Qiu Dang advanced to the semifinals, and China won 3 seats to become the big winner.
Two major upsets
Ma Long, currently ranked No. 3 in the world, is the most consistent in China's men's singles, and the double-lap Grand Slam has not stopped him from moving forward. In the first round of the finals, Ma Long was the only player to win 3-0, defeating Zhang Yuzhen to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the second round, Ma Long's opponent was teammate Lin Gaoyuan. Ma Long is higher than his teammates in terms of both hand-to-hand record and strength, and he is optimistic that he will advance to the semi-finals before the game. Ma Long was in average form today, losing a game 4-11 in the first game. In the second game, Ma Long's form rebounded and equalized the score 11-5. After that, the two sides entered a tug-of-war, each winning the first game 11-9, and the score came to 2-2. In the 5th game, Lin Gaoyuan was in full swing, the first three boards and the near platform attack were quite fierce, winning 11-5, winning 3-2 and advancing to the semifinals.
Liang Jingkun, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, defeated Lin Yunru, who has been on a hot streak lately, in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals. In the second round, his opponent was Qiu Dang, ranked 13th in the world. Qiu Dang defeated Lin Shidong 3-2 in the first round and was also in good shape. However, in terms of strength, Liang Jingkun is much stronger than his opponent.
In today's game, Liang Jingkun played his advantage in the first three games, leading 11-2, 12-14, 11-6, and 2-1. However, in the next two games, Qiu Dang did not play with Liang Jingkun, and continued to take advantage of the advantages through changeable serve and strong attacks on the first three boards, winning two games in a row 11-9 and 11-6, and reversed Liang Jingkun with a big score of 3-2 and advanced to the semifinals.
Qiu Dang's defeat of the main players of the Chinese team in two consecutive rounds can be said to be a peak record of his career. In the third round, he will continue to play against Chinese players, can he achieve three consecutive victories?
Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin won easily
Compared with the exits of Ma Long and Liang Jingkun, Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin defeated their opponents in the second round and were in hot shape.
Fan Zhendong's opponent in the second round is Aruna, who is very strong with a violent forehand and can compete with any opponent. Fan Zhendong played more flexibly today, and firmly controlled the match through the tactics of serving, picking and suppressing Aruna's backhand. In the end, Fan Zhendong won easily 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 and advanced to the semifinals.
Wang Chuqin's opponent in the second round is Tomokazu Zhangmoto, who is the strongest opponent in the Chinese men's singles. In the first game, the two sides competed fiercely, and the score came to 10-10. At the critical moment, Wang Chuqin won 2 points in a row and narrowly won 12-10. In the next two games, Wang Chuqin withstood the impact of Zhang Benzhi and the first three boards, won two more games 11-8 and 11-6, and easily won 3-0 with a big score and advanced to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Fan Zhendong vs Lin Gaoyuan, Wang Chuqin vs Qiu Dang, optimistic about the world No. 1 Fan Zhendong and the world No. 2 Wang Chuqin to advance to the finals.