On April 20, Beijing time, in the men's singles semifinals of the ITTF World Cup, the Sino-Japanese battle that thousands of fans are looking forward to will be staged as scheduled. Lin Gaoyuan, the main force of national table tennis, faced Japan's first brother Tomokazu Zhangmoto. As a result, Lin Gaoyuan swept his opponent 4-0 and advanced to the men's singles final.
This duel between Lin Gaoyuan and Zhang Benzhihe is also his revenge battle. In the 2018 finals and the 2022 Budapest championship, Lin Gaoyuan was in the lead and finally collapsed. In this Macau World Cup, Lin Gaoyuan was in very good shape, eliminated teammate Fan Zhendong in the quarterfinals, and finally ushered in the opportunity to take revenge with Zhang Benzhihe. At the beginning of the game, Lin Gaoyuan started faster, the score was 9-5 ahead, Zhang Benzhihe repeatedly discussed tactics with the coach on the sidelines before the game, but he did not open it after playing, 11-9 Lin Gaoyuan took the lead in winning the first game.
In the second game, the two sides started 1-1, Lin Gaoyuan's tactics were very clear, he served to Zhang Benzhihe in the middle position, to avoid his first shot on the high-quality backlash, Zhang Benzhihe's tactics to open Lin Gaoyuan's forehand slash, after all, Lin Gaoyuan's backhand position is too strong. Fan Zhendong failed to attack Lin Gaoyuan's backhand. In the middle game, Lin Gaoyuan led 7-2. 11-6 Lin Gaoyuan successfully won the second game, leading 2-0. Before, he lost to Tomokazu Zhangmoto twice, not because Lin Gaoyuan couldn't beat him technically, but because his psychology collapsed, and he was frightened by Tomokazu Zhangmoto's roar.
In the third game, Zhang Benzhihe strengthened the offensive firepower of the first three boards, but Lin Gaoyuan's defensive state was too good, one tore the big corner of the forehand, and then returned to the backhand, Lin Gaoyuan led 3-2. When the score came to 6-5, Tomokazu called a timeout. If he loses this game and he falls behind 0-3, he will be far from being out. After the pause, Lin Gaoyuan did not relent, and continuously attacked Zhang Benzhihe, 11-6 and won another game, Lin Gaoyuan led 3-0.
In the fourth game, Tomokazu Zhang had no way out, and he looked very impatient on the court. Lin Gaoyuan has no advantage in competing for the Paris Olympics, and he is at the bottom of the points, but now he seems to be more open on the court and plays more calmly. It should be said that Lin Gao is far from lacking strength, but lacking mentality. In the middle game, Lin Gaoyuan took a 6-1 lead. can beat Zhang Benzhihe until he can't call out, Lin Gaoyuan is indeed very stable in this game. Lin Gaoyuan won the fourth game 11-1 and defeated Tomokazu Zhang with a big score of 4-0 and advanced to the men's singles final.
Before the Macau World Cup, perhaps fans didn't expect that it was Lin Gaoyuan and 35-year-old Ma Long who finally advanced to the final. At this stage of his career, Lin Gaoyuan has not won a major singles championship. With his current state, the final against Ma Long does have hope of reaching the top, what do you think of Lin Gaoyuan's 4-0 sweep of Zhang Ben?