Ma Long of China serves during the men's singles semifinal against Alexis Lebrun of France at the WTT Champions Macao 2023 in Macao, south China on April 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)
Olympic champions Ma Long and Chen Meng made it to the men's and women's singles finals of the WTT Champions Macao, and they will face teammates Wang Chuqin and Wang Manyu respectively.
MACAO, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China's Ma Long and Olympic champion Chen Meng are set to confront compatriots Wang Chuqin and Wang Manyu in the men's and women's singles finals respectively at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Macao on Sunday.
In the men's singles semifinals held on Saturday, Ma defeated France's Alexis Lebrun 4-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8).
Ma survived huge pressure from the French teenager, who had upset world No. 1 Fan Zhendong of China on Friday.
"This was our first encounter. I had faith to strive for victory and did quite well in finding solutions under difficult circumstances. He played fiercely. He is a powerful player," Ma said after the match.
Wang Chuqin of China hits a return during the men's singles semifinal against Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan at the WTT Champions Macao 2023 in Macao, south China on April 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)
Defending champion Wang Chuqin also headed to the men's singles final after a straight-games win over third seed Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan 11-9, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4, setting himself up with the chance of a title defence in Macao.
"At the beginning, I couldn't get used to the rhythm of my opponent. Winning the first game helped me a lot," Wang said after the match.
In the women's singles semifinals, Olympic champion Chen is through to her first-ever WTT Champions final after coming out on top 4-0 against world No. 1 Sun Yingsha (16-14, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9).
"I was in a relatively good state of mind. Sun has been in good form and I just wanted to earn as many points as I could. I will do my best in the final and wish for good luck," Chen said after the match.
Chen Meng of China hits a return during the women's singles semifinal match against her teammate Sun Yingsha at the WTT Champions Macao 2023 in Macao, south China on April 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)
Second seed Wang Manyu also booked her return to the final, taking down world No.3 Wang Yidi 4-2 (7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-4).
"I kept my focus throughout the match. The second game was very important for me to win," Wang Manyu said afterwards. ■