In the first round of the men's singles group stage of the 2024 Table Tennis World Cup, Fan Zhendong, the leader of national table tennis, faced Germany's strong rival Duda and won the first victory of this World Cup with a perfect 4-0 victory. However, the process of the game was not all smooth sailing, and Fan Zhendong's form was worrying, and he went through a tough battle.
At the beginning of the match, Fan Zhendong quickly got into the groove and won the first game 11-1, which seemed to indicate an easy victory. But what happened was a surprise, with Duda showing stubborn fighting, especially on the backhand. Although Fan Zhendong's technical characteristics have not changed significantly over the years, his singleness in receiving the serve made him fall into a hard battle in the second and third games, and the score fell behind.
Especially in the second and third games, Fan Zhendong fell behind many times due to a single serving strategy. The speed and power of his opponent's backhand stand out, and although his forehand is slightly mediocre, it is enough to put Fan Zhendong under great pressure. In the fourth game, the score once reached 9-9, and Fan Zhendong's situation was precarious. In the end, with rich game experience and key ball handling at the critical moment, he narrowly won 11-9 and avoided further complications of the game.
This match is not only a start to the group stage, but also extremely important for Fan Zhendong, especially after he has not tasted the singles title for eight months. His world ranking and Olympic selection points have been surpassed by Wang. The difficult victory has put Fan Zhendong under more pressure and challenges, and people can't help but worry about whether he can successfully defend his title.
In the next game, Fan Zhendong will face the second player in the group, Huang Zhenting. I hope that the first brother of national table tennis can adjust his state in time and return to his former bravery. Fans are also expecting him to show more consistency and strength in the upcoming matches.