FULL MATCH | Fan Zhendong vs Hugo Calderano | MS SF | #WTTIncheon 2024

Ugo Calderano, his high toss serves, and everything else that makes him spectacular to watch to start off this best of seven match. Smart placement here, Fan Zhendong playing it a bit on the elbow. Calderano not able to generate some of the power that we know he has with that backhand. Patient play, holds the wrist back, comes inside the table and plays it uncomfortably wide. So leveled out here at one point apiece now. Tough touch, Ugo Calderano. A man of many sports, father's a PE teacher. Could have gone pro in volleyball, but chose table tennis. Never looked back. It's given us lots of thrills over the years. Many more years to come. Step around, full power. Now in 2018, the one time that Ugo Calderano beat Fan Zhendong. The tactics were, well, not simply, but partially this. Make the first opening count, play lots of parallels. Fan Zhendong, one of the most complete players in the game at this point in time. Good spin shot deep. Fan Zhendong getting his second point on the board here. Nice opening. Backhand to backhand. Fan Zhendong, arguably the best backhand in the world. Interesting, a little bit of self-coaching here. It sounded like in English he said, no good. So the fan vote here. Fan Zhendong with almost 70% of the votes, Ugo Calderano. The other side with 31. Cast your votes at WorldTableTennis.com or on the WTT app. It's tough to imagine, but even blocking a ball, meaning not moving your racket at all and trying to control this, is incredibly difficult. Ugo Calderano knows that he has to take his chances in the counter attacks. Oh, look at the backhand here. Steps around to the forehand side, paints it wide. That wrist turns sideways, tough to tell where he's going to go and what spin exactly is going to be on it. You know there will be some top spin, but what else? Tough to know. Right into the middle, it won't come down. I mean it will, but not on the table. That's how gravity works. Six to three now, Calderano. One to the middle. And again, right on that elbow. Where players are going to go if they can't hit a ball they think is out of reach. Nice patient receive here. Fan Zhendong waiting, doesn't come in too early. Starts to step in just in case, but holds his ground for the potential long serve to come. Ooh, not an easy way to win a point against Fan Zhendong. We've seen very few players lob down or play defense to win points against the cannon on the other side. Calderano up by three, looking for the first here in this best of seven. And a liu, a gift. Looking for the long serve. Carries just long. Fun time for the fans right here. Resting Wang Hao face back there on the bench. Close to that edge, but Calderano in control of the touch game right now from the open power to the placement. Big shots in this rally. Backhand covers the backhand corner with the forehand here. As he starts to move to the wide line, it comes right back into the body. Surprise flick! Attack out of nowhere. Calderano, a page out of the Ma Long flick book. A beautiful guiding shot in the parallel of follow-up. Brill from Brazil with five game points. Soft touch, but Fan Zhendong there leans up with the opening attack. Four game points left. Serves with Calderano, should he need the second one. Soft hands, does it. Inside the table. Here's game one. Definitely won a lot of hearts despite being beaten by Liang Jingkun having a few match points. I think three he said on his Instagram post. Nice long serve from the reverse pendulum. A man on a mission here to change what happened. Can't change the past, but he can definitely pave the way moving forward. Testing the wingspan on the forehand side. It's the backhand inside the table. See a lot of players using that backhand inside because they get more wrist with the backhand for more racket speed than they could with the forehand over the table. Opportunity taking his chances here. Ugo Calderano. Nice long empty serve. Tries to reach out in front, take the ball early. Serve success here. Ugo Calderano with almost 55% Fang Zhendong only 30. Over the score line we saw in game one, 11 to 6, that's understandable. Calderano leaving it nice and shallow but just high enough. Fang Zhendong quick to come in. This time around adjustments made. Calderano getting his fourth ball attack to tie it up. Weight forward. Tough to read the spin on this serve but you'd imagine there's not much. After all, Fang Zhendong lifting up and out. Calderano varying his spin game incredibly well on the serve. Good press. Zhendong staying in for the attack. It was that half-long push. If you're newer to the game, half-long means the ball might not come off the table after one bounce. Might get a second bounce and that puts some hesitation in the opponent. As loaded with spin as can be, Calderano with the backhand. Again, players at this level will prefer to use the backhand to receive. The risk is they leave open that deep backhand corner as you saw Fang Zhendong trying to exploit. Bit of defense. The skylob comes down. Pressure on. But still high arcing spin. That falls a little bit deeper. Calderano looking to move his way back into the table. Try to stay close wherever he can. He's good behind the table but Fang Zhendong doesn't lose many points with the opponent back. Tight serve to the short forehand. Calderano back in front by one. The only time Ugo Calderano won the 2018 World Tour Grand Finals was here in Incheon. Again, not a superstitious guy but the coin was green and yellow. Just saying. Also just saying at the towel break Fang Zhendong. Fang Zhendong won their last four encounters. Although the last one was in the decider. 2023 star contender Ljubljana, Slovenia. Fired up and loaded. That backhand again. Opening attack with quality. It takes so many details to be just right to earn a point against the world number two and the top seed in this event. Feels weird to say world number two as he's spent such a majority of the time since 2019 at world number one. The back-to-back world champion Fang Zhendong. Seven points apiece now. Two serves to come for the thrill from Brazil. Nice slow change up down the line after the long push. It took two clever shots here to throw off Fang Zhendong. The other one right down the line. Fang Zhendong can leap quite far with those quads and the strong legs to catapult him around. Seven long. This is where things get interesting. I mean they have been from the start. But again with their head-to-head if Calderano at the business end of this game is able to close it out pressure becomes very real for one of the most beaten players in the world. For Team China you're looking at an Olympic trial all the time. This event right after the Singapore smash that one barely misses the edge. I was going to say that Fang Zhendong even though he's been world number one and he's the back-to-back world champion he's been beaten by non-Chinese players more than most of his big teammates. Look at this. As wide as can be. Calderano flexibility in the backhand. Footwork here as he shuffles around the backhand corner Ugo Calderano. The muscle fibers in the legs you can see just about every single one it's almost like he doesn't even have skin. Ten serving eight. Two game points for Ugo Calderano. Ooh! Hope Fang Zhendong isn't injured here. Players back at the table from the little that I heard from Wang Hao inviting longer shots saying get into the rally quickly put some pressure on. When you think about what coaches have to do they have to be cheerleaders for their players psychologists but also be able to dissect the game. Ooh! Back edge. Bit of a break for Calderano as he takes his first two serves and converts them to points. This one comes down it's going to be a nasty shot chop block carries just long so far the server's had the advantage every point this game. Wow! No shot a la Mion out here look at that if it comes down again really difficult to deal with. Combination playing with the depths of the table Fang Zhendong brings Calderano in sends him right back to the baseline he's catching the back there cashing in an IOU a bit early 2-0 it's not over until it's over he's going to have to keep up one of the best performances of his life for this entire match. He's done it before but it's been six years. Remember on the other side of the draw Liang Jingkun and Ma Long are waiting got a long way to go in this best of seven before that start talking about it when it gets closer in terms of head to heads. Handled on the long serve Ugo quick to pivot and turn the corner plays it a bit into the elbow and then deep to the corner classic combination if you hit it at the elbow they use the backhand to cover that opens up the backhand corner if they turn to play the forehand that opens up the forehand corner Fang Zhendong making sure he's got clear vision important thing loaded the spin again this backhand he's got explosive power when he needs it I can tell you they are not light and they are not weak Skylobs rackets turned around Fang Zhendong with the red out when did he do it? so much to keep track of Calderano volunteering a bit of defense there's the racket turned around red on the forehand for more speed now he's stuck he switched it back did you see that? it was so fast played one shot a counter attack with the red out and that's seven of the last eight for Fang Zhendong the last two points have not been the recipe that Ugo Calderano would want see the facial expression there Fang Zhendong knew that he had earned the good positioning in that point still a three point lead for the world number two a full stroke there from Fang Zhendong leaves very little time right into that crossover point right at the elbow the right elbow of Ugo Calderano heavy spin deep to the corner makes it a three point game out of the second towel break remember this third game if Ugo Calderano takes it to be up 3-0 he'll be confident and he'll hold nothing back 2-1 confidence goes the other way one after another right off the bounce Calderano showing the fitness here look at this one on the move Calderano like defensive play from Fang Zhendong it takes a few backhand down the line but Ugo Calderano passes says no I'll give it to you with a long push sometimes responding to the opening can be more effective as the opening attacker has to recover nice placement on the push one point game once again now Ugo Calderano has been up 3-0 against one of the now top three in the world from China watch Liang Jingkun Liang Jingkun was able to come back but it sure helped Ugo's chances here right down the line flips the edge and continues to bend Calderano taking his chances that ball right there was the one for me to lean forward like that that's the one that catches the edge a bit to continue out of reach six of the last eight points with a thrill from Brazil and guess what it is now 9-9 soft hands backhand he earns himself game point Calderano that backhand inside the table this game three could be crucial Huang Zhendong coming off not the best event of his life in Singapore two weeks ago and he takes a 3-0 Ugo Calderano he's got a lot of work to do here Calderano doesn't miss by much the undying effort the incredible care of themselves the amount of effort put in to protecting their main instrument which is their physical body Calderano had trained in Oxenhausen for quite some time beautiful nature all around he's on the scoreboard here not so many beat Huang Zhendong in a best of seven outside of his teammates chop block carries just long the jab and Calderano comes at this with side and under watch it as the topspin comes in tries to close the racket enough to keep that heavy topspin down starting a lawnmower out there except the opposite motion so good start here for Huang Zhendong but because it's a small sample pool of points don't let the percentages fool you it's only three points between them in the table and it's a two point game at the towel break one of the many reasons that Calderano is so dangerous again if you're newer to table tennis you might think you ever watch those guys who get 15 feet behind the table you ever see those players they don't want to be there my team China works so hard to stay right at the baseline Huang Zhendong keeps his position close to the table to extend his lead back to three pressure on the backhand as wide as can be counter backhand that we saw the point before Calderano explodes on this one earns himself the opportunity in the touch game quick off the bounce table tennis is fun to play even if you're not a professional but the professionals can't be lazy for a moment constantly moving to get in better position to take the ball early to shut down their opponents options placement on this one backhand power into the body Calderano trying to leap forward catch it in front testing the wide backhand once again Huang Zhendong was up in game number 3 8-4 same differential as here I think 7-3 as well long push does it he's surprising and tricky when he comes in Calderano constantly mixing it up told you they had a lot in common they both speak Chinese as another Mandarin specific thing this is the score line from here in the last game Ugo Calderano won 3 points in a row would eventually take the game 11-9 on this one it's tough to counter even with Calderano's reaction time when you see frames for the ball this high def shot slow-mo replay of what that shot is 5-9 backhand moving around the back of the table Calderano making his case side and top spin perfectly to the corner ball nearly filling that oh an inch on 4-2 5-9 ball kid not finding the seat for a minute Calderano saying done 5 game points back to back Fan Zhendong quality serve deception with that high toss with a higher toss the ball comes into the racket with more speed which means the player can generate more spin and more speed but it's tougher to control at contact Fan Zhendong gets his first one on the board earned his place in the final Fan Zhendong says stay behind the table you think I'm going to attack then he brings him in and that's when the follow-up comes look at the DJ 40 plus 3 star ball they're using clever push a taste of his own medicine comes back at Ugo long push surprise to the baseline so clinical holds out the racket more force and pressure there in terms of pressure there's no doubt about it from the start of this match Ugo Calderano put it on they're both very physically fit stamina we've seen Fan Zhendong play through some long matches it almost seems like the more sweat is flowing the more fired up he is the more energy he gets parallel shot down the middle right into the body of Calderano from the baseline Calderano turns for the forehand behind the back attempted he can do just about anything I've seen him hit shots through the legs from behind the table with his back facing the table now he's down 1-4 now if this were a choose your own adventure the last time he had that opportunity he faked the attack and played a soft empty ball to finish the point the time it takes to recover from that flick sometimes can cost you Fan Zhendong 5-1 up here parallel winner here a beauty Calderano casually down the line that low spinny shot that was a drive comes right back to the short side change of pace from Calderano spins it a bit more shallowly on the table not easy to do when a ball comes in that fast watch this there it is just a little bit more than halfway to the baseline it's a rhythm breaking spin shot Calderano breaks two serves from Fan Zhendong as flexible as can be with the upper body watch his upper body here oh man, has to pull the elbow and everything, raise the shoulder and come right in to snap same score line we saw in the last game Fan Zhendong holding the reins right now like to be in control of where this carriage is going Chiquita wide Calderano inside the table remember Fan Zhendong no longer has his time out Hugo Calderano still does should he need it that is Wang Hao in his zone second towel break and not a lot of wiggle room for Calderano to read that serve perfectly even in slow motion it was tough to tell exactly what Fan Zhendong did to the ball trying to pump himself up whatever it can take Fan Zhendong knows pressure he's been there many times before and that's three in a row Calderano looking at a second serve Fan Zhendong goes for a little walk because he doesn't have a touch shot not just two but a third Calderano waits for the opening attack pulls from the middle to get this to the deep corner and six of the last eight points have gone to the thrill from Brazil and it is dead even seven a piece just too strong to find balance in the touch game from down low we'll get another look not a bad shot there very good inside the table again explosive backhand as you saw puts him up by one last two serve combination it was Calderano who won both on the receive how does he pull this one out back on his heels for this and somehow he pops up to his feet keep your eyes on the feet oh man lower body weight room and every other bit of exercise a little like that seven serving nine smart play only one time in recent history have we seen that forehand flick come out Calderano almost consistently has gone against intuition has not taken the bait Fan Zhendong being warned to not delay this point looks like a ball that we've seen him make time and time again not based on the score but based on the positioning of your opponent two game points for Fan Zhendong another game in this match both sides have found themselves in a position where they realize they need to fire themselves up after being up 7-3 last game four points taken from Fan Zhendong Ugo Calderano trying to get that early start oh the chop block works low loaded with spin closed racket straight side spin he clips the net and goes out tough to know exactly how much of what is on it when someone plays that chop block corner to corner it takes two big shots in this rally Fan Zhendong keeps the pressure alive remember no time outs here what a move from Calderano to lean back and play this forehand the opposite way like backhand on the run it's not the first time we've seen Calderano fool his opponent and get the ball back into the net subtle on the serve would be nice to have a time out for Fan Zhendong but he's already used it 0-4 still the early parts of the game an encouraging score line for the drill from Brazil the type of determination that we bring in this game feels like a ticking time bomb when your toes are on the finish line and you can't cross it that's right, that's okay don't feel anxious to make the opening attack it's worked incredibly well for you Ugo Calderano's been better in responding to the opening attack depending on his quality depending on the opportunity he has to open and after Fan Zhendong at this point Ugo Calderano continues and extends the lead back to 5 this is an exchange rate that Fan Zhendong cannot afford at this point in time he's down a queen and trading pieces Fan Zhendong doesn't blink that can be distracting jarring Fan Zhendong still reacts they love the replay and he regains his composure time and time again the follow up from Calderano when you make a shot like that you really want to win the point and much the same on the other side when someone makes a shot like that against you you don't want to be the poster child for being beaten in the highlight shot of the day so Fan Zhendong escaping from that in quotes privilege a big point to extend back to a 4 point lead 6 to 4 would have been considering their pass the last two games Calderano getting tough here he's been tough but a new level Fan Zhendong inside the table the opening Chiquita so fluid he loads it and then quickly back doesn't cost him any footing second serve and a big one for Calderano interesting timing for a cheer from the crowd back off essentially pretend it never happened Fan Zhendong drives the ball now within 2 points after taking 2 points on receive this is it that touch shot empty once again these pushes that extra push and then the parallel backhand Calderano with side and topspin on this ball and the unlikeliest of shots he has made consistently 3 points between them and 3 points between the finish line and that man right there the thrill from Brazil the spinny backhand it's a 4 point lead it is starting to seem real there will be no celebration until it's over any lapse in focus could be the difference of the match top players in the world know this it's world number 8 3 serves and a chance to close out the match earns himself 5 match points Calderano for the first time since 2018 is in position first time with match points since 2018 here in Incheon top seed for the second time in his career