Day four of the WTT 2024 Saudi Smash was a spectacular showcase for Chinese paddlers, who dominated the matches with impressive performances across singles and doubles categories.
In the women's singles, three Chinese players advanced to the round of 16. Sun Yingsha, the world No. 1, effortlessly defeated Serbian Isabela Lupulesku with scores of 11-3, 11-4, 11-6, setting up a thrilling match against South Korea's Jeon Ji-hee. Chen Xingtong overcame Chien Tung-Chuan from Team Chinese Taipei in a tight three-set match (11-9, 11-9, 11-8), while Qian Tianyi triumphed over Austria's Sofia Polcanova (11-7, 13-11, 11-7) to secure an all-Chinese quarterfinal showdown against Chen.
On the men's side, Fan Zhendong demonstrated his exceptional skill with a convincing 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 victory over South Korea's An Jae-hyun. He is now set to face Germany's Patrick Franziska, who defeated Spain's Alvaro Robles in straight games.
In the men's doubles, top-seeded Ma Long made a strong comeback from an earlier singles defeat, teaming up with Wang Chuqin to defeat the local duo Ali Alkhadrawi and Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi in a comfortable 3-0 win. They will next take on the international pair Jakub Dyjas of Poland and Cedric Nuytinck of Belgium in the quarterfinals.
The women's doubles saw Chen Meng and Wang Manyu breeze past the Romanian pair Elisabeta Samara and Andrea Dragoman 3-0, setting up an exciting all-Chinese showdown against Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong, who also won their match in straight games against the Thai duo Orawan Paranang and Suthasini Sawettabut.
In mixed doubles, the top-seeded pair Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha defeated India's Sreeja Akula and Harmeet Desai 3-0, paving the way for a potentially intense semifinal clash against Japan's third-seeded Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata.
Stay tuned for more updates as the competition heats up!
Reference(s):
Chinese paddlers dominate day 4 matches at WTT 2024 Saudi Smash
cgtn.com