Natalia Bajor vs Ying Han | WS R16 | #WTTMacao 2026

She really worked her way into that Kwai Man match, Han Ying. That's a wonderful flat here. You better believe Han Ying's going to find hers at some point. And of course the viewers will notice that. Wait, wait, wait. And then who makes the move? It's all about risk reward. Who's willing to risk it to put the opponent under pressure? Until then you kind of sit in this stalemate phase. And there we go, Han Ying is the one who takes the chance. More often than not, yielding a point. Took her into a really... It's always easier to dial up the pace. Sometimes put side spin on these chops. You can see it in the swing. There you go. When her racket ends high, around shoulder height, that's when you know she's putting him on. Launched the attack with the backhand this time. That makes sense. Albeit how slow the rallies are. And there is still intent on these rallies, right? Oh, wow. Lots there from the pole. Expertly done. We're already at 16. But there is intent. That's what... Sometimes you see these expedite games and it's just a bit of pitter-patter as we creep towards the 10-minute mark. Whereas for Baioran... Oh, she gets it. Not that one. They're fighting for position. Savage. Off the end of the table. Tight, tight opening game. Love it. She took her. It's absolutely exhilarating. Who cracks first every time? Oh, it caught the net as it went over. You heard it, yeah. So an opportunity now. Game point for Baior. Oh, well played. The aggression. The snap. WTT champions career. Swatting away. Magic for Baior to pull off. But she couldn't quite bring it down. There it is. So on the balance of play, Han Ying is going to be doing this. Oh, the flat hit again. Followed up by the backhand. When you looked at Hayate earlier during her match against Hashimoto, she was exhausted. But that was a much more taxing matchup. Hayate was swinging at everything. Baior was much more patient. Whoa. So often Han Ying actually plays a float shot like that. But there's not a lot of spin on it. And she knows if Baior pushes it, it's going to rise up. Han Ying's just so elegant when she's playing like this. Looks effortless. Who she would prefer to face because Baior's not a great stylistic matchup for her either. She would be watching that matchup against Qiaman. But Han Ying. Wow. There's a lot of fight in Baior, though. She won't give up. Again, she'll lace with backspin. It's a curious match, this one, to watch. I think Fraser summed it up beautifully earlier. Wow. When he said it's a match between and it. Moving it side to side is Baior. There was an opportunity there for Han Ying to bait her into an attack so she can counterpunch. Oh, well played. That's why she's such a good defense-minded attacker. So solid and secure. She knew she had to hold the table and she had the quality of technique to just say it wasn't going according to plan. This is Natalia Baior with no coach in her corner who's turned this around wonderfully. Well. But this is about momentum now, isn't it? Can Baior carry that over? And it's a real tricky situation for Han Ying because sometimes, like against Kwai Man, she'll offer a little bit of variety. She'll come out with a bit more attacking intent. We were commentating saying she needs to use her brain and she needs to pick the right moments. Baior is actually being so patient. And again, when she attacks, it's not with blistering pace. Honestly, the patience of Baior. Wow. Deserves praise. And it's all because of the quality of Baior's all-round game and patience. Normally, Han Ying could just... Not rushing at all. She's just content to pick her moment. And this might be what Han Ying has to do if she... Wonderful. It's a game of jeopardy. And she's won in front. And again, Han Ying would normally... Back at her. But the gesture afterwards spoke volumes. She's, all right, calm down. You have to rush it. There you go. That's why she's so short at trying... That should protect her from a flat hit. Because it will go in the net like it just did. And it might just produce a higher trajectory ball that she can come in and flat hit. But honestly, this reminds me of... For any Marvel fans, the end of Doctor Strange where he just bores the final boss to death. Oh, well played. Now, the thing is with Baior, down the middle, she's really scared of the backhand. So she's just content to try and attack to the forehand. And again, it comes back. And well played, Natalia Baior. But I feel like she might be able to change target. And it might reap a reward. That time, it gets through. Oh, yes. This time, the patience from the pole rewarded. This is awesome. Speechless. Attack repelled. The same again. Rely on attack to get back in this game. Oh, nine. She says it often. Attack. And the drop. Poked over. Drew the result. And she just couldn't get through the pole. We went rolls reverse for a moment, didn't we? And this might be the... One of the hardest things. And Ying can accept that. She's got the lead. Oh, answer right back. Did she say sorry before it hit the edge? I don't think so. Again, it's getting too eager. It's a big topspin serve. But Baior didn't bite on it. She just rolled it back. Get the feeling now it's going to take something special. Sending the ball up with a little bit more trajectory. But load it with backspin. Because it keeps you safe from those types of shots. I also think it's been a good adjustment from the defender. Oh, desperation stuff. On the break now. Five match points. And she gets there. And she will meet Chun-Yi again. And you would be brave to bet against Han Ying here. Just the way she's playing here this week. She feels as if she's on a mission.