In the men's singles eight-in-four game of the Macau World Cup, Zhang Benzhihe reversed Carlberg 4-2, although Carlberg's ability to chase points is very strong, but Zhang Benzhihe found the opponent's shortcomings in this game, and limited the opponent's backhand attack by sending a backhand short ball, and then carried out the active swing control of the ball in the table, so that the opponent's attack could not be focused, thus reversing the game.
The score was very close in the first game, and Carlberg grasped the key points 11-9. In the second game, Tomokazu Zhang took an 8-5 lead in the second game, rubbed a long backhand to get the game point at 10-5, and Carlberg received a serve and forehand to chase the score to 7-10, and finally lost the second game 7-11.
In the second game, Tomokazu Zhang mainly used the split long backhand position to limit Carlberg's backhand attack, and the delicacy of the tactics was shown. In the first half of the game, the two sides played 6-6, and Zhang Benzhihe continued to attack the middle ball, rubbing the long backhand position 9-6 to throw the score away. Carlberg pulled back his forehand and sent a short ball down the middle to make it 8-9.
Although Tomokazu called a timeout, Carlberg hit consecutive forehands and backhands in the middle to reverse the third game 11-8. Although Carlberg is passive, his ability to chase points from behind is reflected, and his constant attacks on Tomokazu Zhangmoto's middle position are very effective. In the fourth game, Zhang Benzhihe attacked with consecutive forehands and directly expanded the score to 5-1.
Carlberg fell short to the net to fall behind 1-7, and then Zhang Benzhi and a long backhand extended the score to 9-2. Carlberg continued to receive serve and pull long, and chased the score to 8-9 by serving a forehand short ball. At the critical moment, Zhang Benzhihe scored with a mid-lane ball, and won the fourth game with a hard forehand attack on the serve 11-9.
The game was an important turning point, and if Carlberg had taken the lead, the outcome of the game would have changed. Zhang Benzhihe's big score lead was chased by the opponent for six points in a short period of time, and his ability to resist pressure is indeed average. At the beginning of the fifth game, it was 2-2, and Carlberg made consecutive backhand offensive errors, fell behind 2-5, and tied the score by shortening the forehand.
The two sides have been swinging the ball in the table, Zhang Benzhi and receiving the serve forehand attack, and the consecutive forehand attack 10-8 to get the game point. Although Carlberg pulled back a forehand to recover a point, he still lost the key goal 9-11. It is particularly important for Tomokazu Zhang to score key points in two consecutive games.
In the sixth game, Tomokazu Zhang relaxed his mentality, and at the beginning he put a short backhand position to lead 3-1. Carlberg asked for a timeout to continue to play the ball short, causing Carlberg to fall behind 1-6 with consecutive forehand and backhand offensive errors. Carlberg chased two points in a row through a forehand line change attack, and Zhang Benzhi and his backhand led 8-3.
At the last moment, Carlberg ate a backhand long ball, and Zhang Benzhi and the return ball swung short in the middle to easily win the sixth game 11-4. The sixth game was particularly easy for Tomokazu Zhangmoto, who made a series of offensive mistakes without much effort, which was the result of proper tactical response.
Tomokazu Zhang defeated his opponent through targeted tactical changes, and he did not surpass his opponent in absolute strength. Carlberg was behind in terms of tactical response throughout the game, but his ability to chase points from behind still made the fans shine. Because in the previous games when he beat Liang Jingkun, he gradually reversed the score when he was behind.
This player's ability to read the game is still relatively outstanding, and Tomokazu Zhang defeated his opponent to reach the semifinals, which is not easy in this kind of World Cup competition. Because in this kind of international competition, Zhang Benzhihe has not reached the semifinals for a long time. In fact, in the past year or so, Zhang Benzhihe's state has declined significantly, and he has lost the impact of previous years.
However, Tomokazu Zhang's ability to read the game is also slowly improving, which is generally ignored by fans. Zhang Benzhi and the room for improvement in hard power are already very limited, in fact, his hard power is not top-notch, and he has always fallen behind in the process of competing with European players to hold the ball.
Carlberg attacked the middle position with consecutive forehands in the game, and completely found the shortcomings of Tomokazu Zhangmoto. It's just that Tomokazu Zhang made some changes in the service extension, especially in the sixth game, he not only controlled the ball in the table very well, but also quickly made some changes in the service round, which is an important reason why he reached the semifinals.
Now Tomokazu Zhang is still very good at handling key points, and he has scored when it is time to score. Next, he will face the winner between Fan Zhendong and Lin Gaoyuan, whether it is against Fan Zhendong or Lin Gaoyuan, Zhang Benzhihe will not have the upper hand.
Reaching the semi-finals is already the upper limit for Tomokazu Zhangmoto, but the self-confidence of Tomokazu Zhangmoto who reached the semifinals has improved a lot. In the group stage of this World Cup, Tomokazu Zhang was also forced to draw by Danish player Grote and almost missed the knockout round. In terms of hard power, Tomokazu Zhang no longer has much competitive advantage, and now he relies on his soft power to compete in the international arena.
Fans are also looking forward to Fan Zhendong and Zhang Benzhihe playing again, in fact, it will be difficult for Zhang Benzhihe to defeat the national table tennis players in the short term. Because the national table tennis players have played against Zhang Benzhihe more times, the tactical restrictions on Zhang Benzhihe are more in place. The semi-finals of this World Cup are likely to be Fan Zhendong vs. Zhang Benzhihe, and Fan Zhendong has a higher probability of reaching the final.
It depends on whether Tomokazu Zhang can put pressure on Fan Zhendong continuously, and I believe that Fan Zhendong can defeat his opponent and win.