On the evening of May 2, Beijing time, the draw ceremony for the 2024 WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam was held, and the men's singles draw results were released.
Saudi Arabia is hosting a WTT Grand Slam tournament for the first time. There are 6 players in the men's singles of this tournament, including Wang Chuqin, Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan, and Lin Shidong. Wang, Fan, Ma and Liang are the top four in the world and the top four seeds in the tournament, so they automatically settled in four different zones, and then Lin Gaoyuan was drawn to be in the same 1/4 zone as Wang Chuqin, and Lin Shidong and Liang Jingkun in the 2/4 zone. Ma Long and Fan Zhendong guarded the 3/4 and 4/4 districts respectively.
Men's Singles draw results
Men's singles upper half matchup
Men's Singles 1/4 Zone: Wang Chuqin and Lin Gaoyuan of national table tennis are in the same zone, but Wang Chuqin is in the 1/8 zone and Lin Gaoyuan is in the 2/8 zone, so if both of them can advance smoothly, they will meet in the 1/4 finals.
The French player Simon Goetz who met in the first round, and the world No. 13 "African Big Brother" Omar Assar are likely to create some difficulties for Wang Chuqin to advance. Lin Gaoyuan is in the same district as Europe's two biggest rivals, Ocharov and Alex Lebrun, and will most likely compete with one of them for a place in the quarterfinals.
Men's Singles Zone 2/4: Liang Jingkun and Lin Shidong of national table tennis are in the same zone, and they are in the same 3/8 zone, which means that only one of the two can advance to the quarterfinals.
Lin Shidong has always had a poor signing position in Grand Slam tournaments, and he always encounters his teammates early. He was eliminated by Ma Long in the second round of the 2023 Singapore Grand Slam, and even though he broke through Fan Zhendong in the second round of the 2024 Singapore Grand Slam, he lost to Bol immediately afterward. The most impressive clash between Liang Jingkun and Lin Shidong on the international stage was in the men's singles final of the WTT Goa Star Challenge 2023, where the two sides battled for six games, and Liang Jingkun finally defeated Lin Shidong 4-2 to win the title. Although Lin Shidong has strength, he always gives people the feeling of lacking a little fire, and has never been able to make a big breakthrough. Who are you optimistic about who will advance to the quarterfinals?
The players of the association outside the zone are also as skilled as Lin, Lin Yunru, Zhuang Zhiyuan, and Gao Chengrui of the Chinese Taipei team are gathered here, and Lin Yunru and Zhuang Zhiyuan will have a "civil war" in the first round. South Korea's Lee Sang-so and Cho Dae-sung are very impactful, while Sweden's Moregard and Anton Carlberg are also not to be underestimated.
Men's singles in the lower half of the match
Men's Singles 3/4 Zone: National table tennis veteran Ma Long, alone in this area. In order for Malone to advance to the semifinals, he will most likely encounter strong opponents such as Zhang Yuzhen, Darko Joczyk, and Tomokazu Zhang or Felix Lebrun.
Ma Long has hit the Singapore Grand Slam men's singles championship twice before, but he was "cut off" by Fan Zhendong, and it is not certain whether he can participate in the Singapore Grand Slam next year, and now there is a Saudi Grand Slam, which gives Ma Long another chance to realize his dream.
Ma Long is also improving, winning the men's singles World Cup for the third time in April. Previously, his style of play was mainly based on control, but with the increase of age, the control ability has weakened, but once he lets go of his hand to fight the opponent, he is also very aggressive, Wang Chuqin and Lin Gaoyuan can't stop it. Will Malone be able to continue to surprise fans this time?
Men's Singles 4/4 Zone: National table tennis star Fan Zhendong is alone in this area. In addition to Fan Zhendong's outstanding performance at the Busan Team World Table Tennis Championships, he continued to slump in the men's singles field, and has not won the men's singles championship for more than half a year, and the world's No. 1 position has long been taken away by Wang Chuqin. Approaching the Paris Olympics, Fan Zhendong has been trying to find his form, what level can he play this time?
Among the players in the out-of-zone association, there are three German players, including Qiu Dang, Bol and Francesca. Fan Zhendong's biggest opponent on the way to the semi-finals should be Brazil's Hugo Calderano, who recently met in the men's singles semifinals of the WTT Incheon Championships, when Fan Zhendong lost 2-4.