After the top 16 of the ITTF World Cup men's and women's singles came out, the draw for the second stage of the knockout round was immediately held. As a result, Fan Zhendong fell into a civil war, Liang Jingkun succeeded the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban, and once again played the role of blocking Zhang Benzhihe, and Ma Long and Wang Chuqin were in the top half of the same area.
The men's singles draw for the second phase of the Macau World Cup:
Zone 1/4: Wang Chuqin vs Hugo Calderano, Zhang Yuzhen vs Lin Yunru
Zone 2/4: Hayasuke Togami vs. Omar Assal, Felix Lebrun vs. Ma Long
Zone 3/4: Liang Jingkun vs Anton Carlberg, Marcos Freitas vs Tomokazu Zhangmoto
Zone 4/4: Darko Joczyk vs Lin Gaoyuan, Lin Shidong vs Fan Zhendong
Judging from the above draw table, the opponent of defending champion Fan Zhendong in the same district is really too strong. Lin Shidong recently eliminated Fan Zhendong at the Singapore Grand Slam. In the group stage of the Macau World Cup, Lin Shidong played well and defeated Alex Lebrun 4-0. As a national table tennis player, he does not have any pressure to win the championship, and the quality of Lin Shidong's veneer is not inferior to Fan Zhendong at all. Xiaopang met Lin Shidong in the first round, and this game was really not easy to play. Even after Lin Shidong's pass, Fan Zhendong is likely to usher in teammate Lin Gaoyuan.
Lin Gaoyuan's foreign war is not very powerful, but he has a lot of experience in fighting a civil war. Previously, Lin Gaoyuan in the team had also defeated Fan Zhendong. It is not easy for Dong Ge to fight out of the 4/4 zone. In the lower half of the same area as Fan Zhendong, there is also teammate Liang Jingkun, and the biggest opponent in the same district is still the Japanese brother Tomokazu Zhangmoto. Durban World Table Tennis Championships Liang Jingkun also narrowly defeated Zhang Ben Zhihe, this Macau World Cup, whether he can win Zhang Ben again, is also a huge test for Liang Jingkun.
In the first half of the district, Wang Chuqin and Lin Yun will be divided into the same district, and judging from the recent encounters, Wang Chuqin has the upper hand. However, Wang Chuqin's form in the group stage is not very good, and I still hope that he can play well in the knockout stage. Also in the top half of the district with Wang Chuqin is the veteran Ma Long. The Dragons' first-round opponent was Felix Lebrun, and this game was not very easy to play. Lebrun Jr.'s technique is more consistent than that of his brother, and whether Malone can hold on to the 2/4 zone will also be important for him to go to Paris. It is precisely the opponents in this area, including Hayasuke Togami, who play with speed flow, and I hope that Ma Long can keep up with the hitting speed of the post-00s.
What do you think of the results of this men's singles draw, is Fan Zhendong's draw the most difficult to play?