FULL MATCH | Simon Gauzy vs Liang Jingkun | MS R32 | #WTTChongqing 2024

Simone Gauzy to start it off, best of five. Simone Gauzy looking fresh, from the beard to the haircut, the outfit and everything else. He's got a lot of feeling. But a gift on serve, a Liu. The home crowd favorite here, Liang Jingkun. Good pressure on top of the bounce, a little bit closer to the table in general. This is what took Simone Gauzy into the top ten. He was always good behind the table and he still is. Flash straight there. Whoa, it's rare that you can see the flash on camera and see it caught, put out on camera. See her hand glowing, not a coincidence. That person actually doesn't have a cell phone and is just E.T. Quick off the bounce, Liang Jingkun. Liang Jingkun. China puts a lot of resources into excelling in this sport. It's an honor to play for Team China. And the pressure is unrivaled. No other team in the world knows the pressure that the top Chinese athletes face in table tennis. So the first towel break here, they come up every six points. I like it, Chongqing really taking care of business here. Reminding people about the flashes. What I was going to say though is learning to take the ball early is part of the practice to get to this level. Even provincial players in China know this well. Tough way to win a point from behind the table, backhand. Simone Gauzy finds a way to do it. Ripping opening and then right back into the elbow. Smart placement, the arcing shot. I told you about the spin, but look at the arc on those shots. Maybe we'll get some A.I., some info on that. Strawberry central, loading it up. He comes around the ball, the first strawberry I've seen out here in some time. Heavy underspin, short stroke, just snaps the wrist. Takes a lot of agility for that shot. Nice placement here as Dapeng plays it deep to the backhand in the push game. Smart placement, patience. Simone Gauzy moves the feet quickly to get in early. Once he's set up his camp, his body's in position, he has time to use his peripheral to see where the opponent's moving and where's going to be least comfortable for him. Back and front by one, Liang Jingkun, but the momentum recently. Simone Gauzy, this combination, the placement, Liang Jingkun leaving it uncomfortable, shallow. Left, six, five. Good recovery there from the backhand, but the next shot to follow, a lot of pressure as Simone Gauzy tries to find the short side, that push. Here the seatbelt shot, doesn't come down. Wow, it's like they practiced in unison. Five, eight. Simone Gauzy's caused some trouble for top Chinese opponents, 2019 Xu Xin. Nine, five. It's funny, two back-to-back world champions, the same message was sent to Team China. In the draw, it was four and one, four Chinese players on one half and one on the other side and the one crumbled under pressure, two world championships in a row. Nine, six. 2019 it was Simone Gauzy, 2021 it was Timo Boll, who recently announced his retirement following the Paris Olympics, so this should be his last international singles event. Three-point lead here for Liang Jingkun. Oh, he does it, pulls out the heavy side spin shot and Liang Jingkun reads it perfectly to come back and stay aggressive. Get ready, one, and this is the shot, like a lawnmower start. Having to leap to stay on top of it, a 14-shot rally, Liang Jingkun, four game points. And he takes it on the first, 11-6. Simone Gauzy knows how important it is to get in on the receive. Every point will matter. Played well in the first game, but only got him six points. Look at the reaction on this one. Do you realize how fast you were going, officer? It was all a blur. Liang Jingkun has the answer to every shot in this rally, even the full-fledged forehand, the F-cubed of Simone Gauzy. Fist clinched indeed. Deserved, good sir. Closer to parallel on this one. Going to the shorter side, Simone Gauzy playing the backhand effectively. Opening spin and then the quick short stroke. Simone Gauzy at 29 years old has two very young teammates, but 29 is still getting stronger. Man, it feels like about seven years ago, a back injury for Simone Gauzy, and you had to wonder, he plays an incredibly physical game, which makes him wonderful to watch, but it's in the shape of his life right now. Touched. Fair play, Liang Jingkun saying, that's my opponent's point. Wasn't sure if it touched his shirt on the way down, but there was something other than the racket that was contacted, so automatic points for Simone. I like the communication there, the way that was handled. Simone Gauzy wears his heart on his sleeve as a very fiery player, but he very politely sort of said, if I'm not mistaken, and Liang Jingkun said, you're not mistaken, you're right, that's your point. Quickly identifying the flash in the crowd, it's tied up at three points apiece. That fire I was talking about, forehand, full extension, athletic game. Not so common to see this serve from Simone Gauzy. Shovel serve. From that angle, it actually looks slightly more familiar, just hadn't seen so much of it this match. Well played, Liang Jingkun. Peripheral vision, seeing Simone Gauzy starting to step around to set up in the backhand corner, then goes the other way. Here it is, Simone turns and burned. Rotisserie. Tough way to win a point, passively from behind the table, but he makes it awkward, he puts less spin on it. Smothering there, spin, watch this. Floating awkward shot towards the baseline, right in between the forehand and backhand. And in front here, it's Simone Gauzy with a big serve, trying to extend the lead to two. Ooh, two on the net, on the way up and the way down. This ball, if it's an attachment style for the net, it's needy. Look at this. Wow. That one was really having a fear of abandonment of the net there. So a bit of fortune, but Simone Gauzy, the French showman, up by two. A reverse pendulum, a signature that we've seen commonly in the game. From Zhang Jike to Fan Zhendong and Liang Jingkun just the same. Simone Gauzy taking his chances here, but two quick points for Liang Jingkun. In the open rally, gets Simone a step behind the table. It's this one right here, catches him off balance, pulling him in. It's a bait shot. Much needed, Simone Gauzy is going to do everything he can to keep the pedal to the metal. Whatever momentum he gets, keep the pressure on. Liang Jingkun's been a bit of a steel trap since 2021. Hugo Calderano knows it well. And even with the cautious play, Simone Gauzy in position here. Keep your eyes on Simone Gauzy. He covers the middle with the forehand, spins softly, tries to move back into the table. And in the moment he sees the opportunity down the line, Liang Jingkun exploits it. And in front by one now, Liang Jingkun edging towards that finish line. Remember they're head to head, Simone Gauzy needs to find an early crack in the windshield. A slow spinny one to the forehand, side doesn't come down for Gauzy, it's Liang Jingkun. Not a ton of spin on it. Interesting. Simone Gauzy doing the motorboat mouth for a moment. Expecting a little bit more side spin to carry the ball back onto the table. He's facing two game points. And only the one needed, 11-8, Liang Jingkun sets up a 2-0 lead. Game to play here, spot to flash. Game three, we're back. A lot of work in this, Simone Gauzy constantly trying to make his way back into the table, following his backhands. Capturing that valuable real estate right at the coast of the table. How is that even comfortable? There's no way this is a comfortable shot, yet Simone Gauzy manages to pull out the backhand after the step behind to create the forehand. Go back and watch that one over and over. That's physical fitness and balance. Good look at that line. Took his chances. Fine margins here if it's one inch on the other side inside the table. He's burned with the counter wide. Has to take those chances. It's okay. Aggressive on the opening. Again, the quality of the first attack is crucial. It's not just if you get the first attack. We saw that with Jules Moorgaard earlier today. Behind the table does it! The chop! A bit of that strawberry sauce on it. And man is that thing buried in sauce. Liang Jingkun got it the time before. Check the trails on the ball. Get ready for Simone Gauzy's specialty. Here it comes. The drop. DJ. Okay. No problem. At the first towel break here. Simone Gauzy with a two point lead. And the crowd waking up quickly. From under the table that side top spin. Liang Jingkun. Beautiful shot. I can't believe what I just saw. Simone Gauzy pushing from behind the table here. Realized quickly he was in hot water. And a little dodge ball there. A little ole. Some fancy footwork there. From the matador. Skylab comes down shallow. Tough to win this one. Oh man side. It's still on! Oh man the barriers. This is the first time since the Infinity Arena's inception. Back on the bench. A little bit off the top of the net. Some English there. Not talking about spin but literally the language Liang Jingkun was speaking in that moment. Still the language. The sport is kept scoring. Oh that's got some pace on it. Check the radar for that one. Simone Gauzy with a whip like forehand. This slow-mo is going to feel fast. Oh man was that low. Man. Channeling his inner Liam Pitchford on that one. Funny choice but it's how it appeared. Oh back edge as well. A little bit of fortune favoring the home crowd favorite here. Liang Jingkun in front by one. Nice receive. Ice cream cone comes in for a bit of pace on it. Loving the crowd reaction. Big point there for Simone. Remember his back is against the ropes in this game. It's must win from here on out. Look at how far the feet spread for Simone to rock back and create that opening attack. Gauzy goes even. He's like really? I'm about to serve. Some people are quite far away here though. Remember seats are tough to come by. Not for lack of seats in the stadium. It's a massive stadium. My eyesight's not too shabby. But in the shadows. What I can tell you is, I can see that six of the last eight have gone to Liang Jingkun. That's some momentum for the man in front. It's an exciting time to be here for the local Chongqingers. Our Tunisian umpire has a French accent because he lives in Paris. Strawberry back in action. Simone Gauzy. Just long on the counter. It is four match points for Liang Jingkun to go 5-0 in his head-to-head over Simone Gauzy. One match point saved. Simone Gauzy says let's get back to it. I like the way this feels. Fast serves and a timeout called. Back from Liang Jingkun's timeout. And it takes care of business. The door is closed. Liang Jingkun, world number three, has beaten Simone Gauzy for the fifth time.